There are roughly 350,000 churches in the US across various Christian denominations.
The importance of religion in this country is obvious, but if you’re thinking about running a church of your own, you need to make sure you’re doing it the right way. With so many other churches out there, it can be tricky to establish a solid foundation to develop your congregation.
Today, we’re going to give you a short guide for starting a church in 2023. It’s not going to be simple or easy, but keep reading and you’ll have a step-by-step guide for doing it correctly.
Figure Out Your Mission
To start a church, you need a mission. Your mission is something special that your congregation is going to bring to the local community. It coincides with particular goals that you set out to achieve and operates under the umbrella of your particular denomination.
You’ll also need to think about your leadership structure. Who will be making the decisions and will there be checks and balances to this person’s power? You’ll also need to come up with a name and branding for your church to better appeal to attendees.
Taking Care of Business
Running a church is a lot like running a business, so there are numerous business-type things you need to sort out when starting out. You’ll need to get your employer identification number (EIN) for tax purposes and open a business bank account to keep fundraising funds and donations in.
You’ll also need an article of incorporation (aka certificate of formation), which establishes your church under the government. While you’re at it, you’ll want to apply for 501(c)(3) status, which makes your church exempt from taxes.
Designate one person from church management to file this type of paperwork and handle the financial side of things. You can also hire an accountant if that makes it easier to focus on church matters.
Start Fundraising
Fundraising is an essential aspect of running a church, as it always has been. In modern times, it’s not as easy as passing a donation basket around during mass. You need to set up an online infrastructure to accept donations and divert them to your bank account.
Fortunately, you can embed a donation form directly on your website to set it up so that donation receipts are automatically issued. There are a variety of other donation platforms that make it easy to accept money from your congregation.
Setting Yourself Apart
Starting out and appealing to new members is the most difficult part. You need to set yourself apart from other churches in the area. Using a modern approach with social media and new tech can help you appeal to both young and older audiences.
For instance, you can appeal to more members by streaming the masses online. These streaming service packages make it easy to set up and stream with state-of-the-art equipment. The easier you make it for people to attend mass, the more successful your church will be.
Starting a Church Made Easy
As you can see, starting a church isn’t exactly easy, but you can simplify it by following the guide we’ve laid out here. If you get the business side of things taken care of and learn how to appeal to the right people, there’s no reason why your church won’t get off the ground quickly.
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