How to Start a Church

ON THIS PAGE

• How to Start a Church
• How Big is the Religious Organization Industry?
• What are the Key Segments of the Religious Organization Industry?
• The Religious Landscape of the United States
• What External Factors affect the Religious Organization Industry?
• What are the Key Customer Segments in the Religious Organization Market?
• What are the Key Costs in the Religious Organization Industry?
• What are the Keys to launching a new Religious Organization?
• What are the Typical Startup Costs for a New Religious Organization?
• How much do Religious Organization Operators Make?
• Helpful Videos
• Additional resources in the religious organization market

How to Start a Church

If you’re looking to start a church or religious organization, you’ve come to the right place. Since we’re going to show you exactly how to do it.

We’ll start with key religious organization industry fundamentals like how big the market is, what the key segments are, and how revenues and profits are generated.

Then we’ll discuss keys to not only starting a church, but succeeding in it!

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How Big is the Religious Organization Industry?

AThere are approximately 192,921 religious organizations in the US, with $111.2 billion in revenue. Its annual growth rate is 2.5% over the past five years.

What are the Key Segments of the Religious Organization Industry?

Religious organizations are segmented by denominations. The three main segments for the industry are Evangelical Christian worship services, Roman Catholic worship services and Mainline Protestant worship services. With Black Churches, Jewish, Muslim and other faiths accounting for the remaining industry’s revenue.

What External Factors Affect the Religious Organization Industry?

A number of factors affect the performance of the religious organizations industry. These drivers include:

• Per capita disposable income – As the income of individuals involved in religious organizations increase, they tend to donate more and increases revenue of the industry.
• Number of households – The number of households affects the population of religious organizations. The bigger the families of individuals affiliated to religious organizations get, the more members sign up to the industry.
• Number of immigrants – The United States is known to hold a large number of immigrants. The increase of immigrants also affects the increase and decrease of religious organization industry.
• Time spent on leisure and sports – Religious activities are also considered leisure time for most families in religious communities, thus increased time for leisure is good for the industry.
• Number of college students – Many college educated individuals do not have interest in participating in religious organizations. The increase of accessibility to college education this year negatively affects the religious organization industry.

What are the Key Customer Segments in the Religious Organization Industry?

The key customer segments for religious organizations are: Boomer generation, Generation, Silent generation and Millennial generation.

What are the Key Costs in the Religious Organization Industry?

• Wages – About one third of the religious organizations’ revenue covers for the wages paid to religious leaders and church staffs that work for congregations.
• Purchases – Over the last 5 years, revenue share of religious organizations for purchases changed from 17.0% to 16.0%.
• Rent and utilities – Rent and utilities today dropped to below 15% of the industry revenue from 20.0%.
• Depreciation – 4.7% of revenue of religious organizations is spent on depreciation.
• Marketing – 1.5% of the industry revenue accounts for marketing costs.
• Other expenses – Religious programs and activities make up 17.9% of the irreligious organizations’ revenue this year, 9.0% of which is spent on mission support.

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What are the Keys to Launching a New Religious Organization?

1. Identify your mission and vision.

Before venturing in the religious organization industry, determine your purpose. This includes your statement of beliefs and the type of ministry that you want to get involved with – do you plan on focusing on missionary outreaches, community activities, youth programs, etc. This will enable you to forecast your needs and give you a clearer guideline of what your organization will be all about.

2. Choose a location.

In choosing the site of your religious organization, consider its accessibility to people because this industry involves a lot of interaction with the community. You should also find a location where you will be willing to reside because starting a religious organization, especially a church, is a full-time mission.

3. Start small group meetings.

Build good relationships with the people in the communities surrounding your religious organization. This will help you establish a good name and credibility. The more popular your organization gets from the people’s good remarks about it, the larger its influence will be.

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4. Have reliable workers or volunteers.

Look for people with the same vision and calling as you who are willing to work voluntarily with minimal wages as you start with your religious organization. Doing this will enable you to spend your initial money for programs and other costs.

5. Organize fundraising activities.

This is especially helpful to religious organizations without support from bigger institutions or sponsors. Think of activities where communities can participate, enjoy, and donate. Proceeds from these activities are tax deductible and can help finance your next projects. This will also make your organization more known to the public.

6. Comply with government requirements.

Make sure that you have all your documents prepared for your organization to be legally acknowledged by the government. Know the requirements that you need to submit to both state and national government. Consult a lawyer if you can afford it or if you know someone who can do it for a lesser fee. But, remember that processing your requirements by yourself will save you more money.

7. Secure your organization’s bank account.

It is important to have a separate bank account for your business organization to keep your funds safe. This allows easy access to sponsors and members who want to donate to your organization, and provides clear record of your financial transactions. Make sure to document all of your banking records in case of compliance audits made by the government.

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