The Heavy Cost of Doing Church with a Business Model

Excerpt: “[O] ur modern ministry model trains us to do alot of church administration and scholarly work without any other marketable skill. This is my problem right now. I went to a Bible College that trained you to do church the way they do church and that’s not going to get you a job outside of churches that do church like the Bible college that trained me. I personally hope that most Bible colleges go out of business and stop granting worthless degrees to idealistic young people who spend alot of money to get them. Young people who want to be in the ministry need to go to college, learn a workable trade that can be done anywhere in the country (accounting, financial planning, real estate, computer programming) and get some life experience first before pouring out their wealth of 23-year-old wisdom to people. What about training? Go to seminary after you get a real college degree.” - (Emphasis mine.)

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For a counterpoint, here is one of Kevin Bauder’s articles from a few years ago: http://sharperiron.org/article/future-of-bible-college

The military is the best bet for anybody wanting to go into the ministry:

• You will learn a valuable trade you can use for a long time. This is assuming you choose a career path that is transferrable. I’m not sure Aviation Ordinanceman will transfer real well …
• You can get a college degree for free while you’re in the service. This can be an Associates or, if you’re really ambitious and stay for a few more years, a Bachelors. Tuition assistance is 100% in the Navy.
• When you get out, Bible College (or Seminary if you already have your BA) is free. Post 9/11 GI-Bill is wonderful!
• You are more mature and realistic about life - you will be a better Pastor.
• You’ve been in the real world, and won’t be a 25 year old with an MDiv who doesn’t know how to manage an operational budget and has lived in the dorm for seven years.

Go Navy. Accelerate your life, and let the journey begin! Be a global force for good! (that last one is actually the Navy’s current slogan - yuck!)

[Larry Nelson]

For a counterpoint, here is one of Kevin Bauder’s articles from a few years ago: http://sharperiron.org/article/future-of-bible-college

This isn’t so much a counter point as it is a concession to the need for Bible Colleges as they are to either change or die. If they become a liberal arts school with a really great Bible education, then they’re no longer strictly a Bible College.

Even with a building that’s paid for, we would need close to $150,000 – $200,000. The costs involve a year of salary, advertising costs and securing all the stuff needed to pull off a great Sunday launch to go big

Observations:

• A building paid for! That, in an of itself, is a good start!
• On “go[ing] big” … the problem .. what do you week # 2? I feel sorry for those who missed the big splash

I have read literally nothing on church planting. I know that may make me seem strange. But, I honestly want to know:

• Is the church planting model in the linked article what people are being taught? I hope the author is being at least a little sarcastic!
• Call me stupid, but if I wanted to plant a church somewhere, I would:
  • Secure a job
  • Move there
  • Start inviting people to my house for Bible study
  • Build from there and worry about a dedicated church building later
  • Hope to someday be employed as a Pastor full-time

I honestly want to know if this is a hopelessly naive way to do things? It sounds pretty reasonable to me.

I think that’s the way Paul did it, so I’m fairly sure you’re OK on this. :D

Seriously, if a church wants to parachute someone into a city with a F/T salary and benefits, good for them. But I’d favor the tentmaking approach myself.

Actually, what Tyler describes is rarely as feasible as it used to be. The first obstacle is the zoning codes. More and more subdivisions have restrictions on how many vehicles you can have at or near your property and how often they can be there. Homeowners spent years complaining about noise and traffic congestion so that actually getting anything going in your house is very difficult without violating HOA or municipal codes. At the same time, inflation has made renting a site impractical for start-up ministries as well. Even schools are largely out of reach these days now that rents have sky-rocketed post-recession. It’s a very different endeavor to plant a church from scratch than it was even 25 years ago.

[Chip Van Emmerik]

Actually, what Tyler describes is rarely as feasible as it used to be. The first obstacle is the zoning codes. More and more subdivisions have restrictions on how many vehicles you can have at or near your property and how often they can be there. Homeowners spent years complaining about noise and traffic congestion so that actually getting anything going in your house is very difficult without violating HOA or municipal codes. At the same time, inflation has made renting a site impractical for start-up ministries as well. Even schools are largely out of reach these days now that rents have sky-rocketed post-recession. It’s a very different endeavor to plant a church from scratch than it was even 25 years ago.

Yes, these are all real obstacles. If starting a church is starting a big meeting, then it’s really hard. Let’s say all of those difficulties are in place like the city of San Francisco. Every square inch on the peninsula is worth millions of dollars and rent is horrible. Each apartment is gated and there’s no way to get in unless you live there. There is absolutely no parking. What do you do?

A few options:

Churches have to be started by small organic cell groups of ten to twenty max. Meeting places will have to be informal and free - coffee shops, parks, pubs, living rooms, apartment complex recreational rooms, etc…

They would have to reproduce into other small groups all around the city until you have a critical mass that has to meet as a congregation. Then the real difficulty comes in

- rent from an existing church that’s struggling to keep their doors open.

- rent out weekly conference rooms at restaurants

- rent out hourly classroom space at a local city college

Will it change the way you are accustomed to doing church? You bet! no pews, no overhead projector, no pulpit, none of that stuff matters. But what you will be able to do is the essentials: preaching, prayer, worship, fellowship and Lord’s Supper

I’m with Will on this one. If you’re going to plant a new church, start small, build relationships, and scale upwards. I think that the model of building a new church by ‘plopping’ a church building in an unreached area and starting with that is going to go the way of the dinosaur soon as persecution and government interference kicks up further. (Some would say it already has with the IRS intervening on behalf of the Democratic party, but I digress).

There’s no law that says that a church must have a building, and frankly, I think some people might be more amenable to coming to a church in a neutral setting (like a Starbucks or library) as opposed to going to a church building proper.

There could be a place (particularly in urban areas) for:

• Small house-churches
• Perhaps lead by 2 elders
• A “small tent” doctrinal statement - eg 5 pt calvinism
• Closed communion
• Invitation only (no sign hung out / no website / no advertising)
• Purposely NOT 501(c)(3) / not incorporated
• Completely under the radar of the government
• (With no intent of being big … at some size … say 25 … divide)