How to Start a Church Ministry
Starting a church ministry takes a lot of praying, planning and research. When starting a church, you have to remain faithful during hard times, which can be draining on you and your church plant team. Having a few guidelines to keep you focused will help you avoid the pitfalls many church plants suffer.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Pray. The most important step in every church plant is prayer. Prayer should not only be on your own, but also with a team of people. Use your legal pad to create a list of needs to keep you focused during your prayer time. The enemy will try to attack you as you work to advance the Kingdom of God. Praying daily and having a prayer team help strengthen you for these attacks. 1 Corinthians 16: 13-14 says, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be strong. Do everything in love." Prayer is one way to stand your guard, stand firm and be strong. (Romans 12:12)
-
2
Meet with a mentor or group of mentors. This should be a person or people in the ministry that has experience church planting. They can pray for you as you work through the pains of church planting. They can help you figure out if you are truly called to plant a church. Do not be discouraged if this is not your calling, God has gifted you in another way. Find out what those gifts are and use them. (1 Corinthians 12).
-
-
3
Meet with the board or elders at your local church. These people can be your spiritual and financial covering for your church plant. If your church plant is being funded by your home church make sure you understand their expectations for building a church. They can help guide you with their spiritual wisdom in the process of church planting, which can be very difficult. Do not be discouraged if you face closed doors or dead ends. Remember that Jesus was hated as well (John 15: 18). (Hebrews 6:11-12 and Acts 13-14).
-
4
Contact the Secretary of State for the state that you will be planting your church. You will want to get all of the paperwork concerning Articles of Incorporation. Incorporation isn't necessary. Research this to see if it is something that your church plant wants to be a part of. Also, your home church may require you to do this so check before skipping this step.
-
5
Decide on a name. Ask the Lord to be your guide as you seek a name for your church. Trust that the Lord will provide the perfect name for your church. (Proverbs 3:5).
-
6
Select people for your board. You are looking for spiritually strong people such as pastors from area churches to serve on your board. (2 Timothy 2:2, Titus 1: 5-9).
-
7
Write down your bylaws, constitution and statement of faith. Again, let the Lord guide you during this time and seek wise counsel from your mentors and board.
-
8
Contact the IRS for your Federal ID number. Also, you will need to get in touch with the State Department of Revenue to receive your state ID number. This number will exempt you from paying taxes on ministry expenses.
-
9
Get your 501(c)3. This form allows your church to be exempt from federal income tax. It also gives anyone that financially supports your ministry tax credit. The 501(c)3 form is very difficult to obtain. Also, there is a very large application fee. Consider hiring an attorney to guide you through this process to protect yourself and your supporters. If during the church planting preparation you are still an employee of your home church you will be covered by their exemption status, but you do not want to become a separate entity until you have this exemption status of your own.
-
10
Take time out to spend time developing your relationship with Jesus. Often ministry takes over you life, which can drain you spiritually. Set aside daily time to spend developing your time with Jesus. Also, take spiritual retreats where you can go somewhere away from the daily grind of ministry and spend some extended time being filled.
-
11
Find a place to meet. You can meet in your home or the home of someone on you plant team. If you have a budget, do not feel tempted to find the largest place to accommodate growth. Churches do not explode in attendance overnight. Stick to your budget. Also, pray and ask others to pray for you as you seek the place that God has prepared for you and your congregation (Jeremiah 33:3). If you do not have a destination yet, continue to pray for the Lord to lead you to where He wants you to go and go with the place that you feel strongest about. The Lord will be with you.
-
12
Establish an office. It is great to have an office in your home to cut down on costs. Also, consider going to local coffee shops if you have a laptop you can work on while there. Wherever you end up, establish a church phone number and P.O. Box.
-
13
Design your stationary, website, business cards, Facebook page, Twitter account and other materials for your church. You do not have to be gifted in this area, but you can find someone who is. There are plenty of resources for you. See the Resource section for suggestions.
-
14
Write a support letter. You will need to contact people to help support your ministry or add to the support you already have. Also, consider starting a blog separate from the church's to keep your supporters informed. Mail out newsletters to your support team every 4-6 weeks. Include updates, personal stories from people at your church or on your church plant team, and prayer requests.
-
15
Get a core group together. Contact anyone you might know in the area that may be interested in being involved with your church plant. Do not invite people who are already serving at another church. Meet with them to discuss your church plant and give them time to pray about whether or not the Lord wants them to be on your team. There could be a lot of rejection during this time. Keep praying and have your mentors pray, too. (Romans 4:18-21).
-
16
Advertise. Use fliers, radio ads, Facebook, Twitter. There are plenty of avenues to advertise your church. Ask local Christian radio stations to advertise your service times. Many Christian radio stations will do this for free. If you can afford it place a radio ad on mainstream radio as well. Newspapers sometimes post events for free so check with them as well. You can also apply for a bulk permit from the postal service and purchase a mailing list. This is an expensive option, but will allow you to mail postcards to the neighborhood you will be apart of.
-
17
Assign jobs for your first service. People may have to work double or even triple duty to get the job done. You will want to walk through the service from beginning to end to make sure you cover all of your bases. Include childcare, which will be appealing to parents. Also, if you are renting a space review what is required of you to use the space. They may want you to clean up after each service and be out by a certain time.
-
18
Follow-up. You should have contact cards to pass out or include in your church bulletin. Ask visitors to fill out the card. Follow-up with each person before the next service. Make a visitors welcome packet with information about your church to mail to each person. You may also consider visiting them during the week to introduce yourself at their home or for coffee. Let the meetings be same-sex if possible. If you don't see a familiar face for a week or two, follow up with that person to make sure they are okay because they could be going through a tough time.
-
19
Plan events. Brainstorm ideas for community events to get your church's name out there. Also, a dinner or dessert at your house is a great way to meet people that are coming to your church.
-
20
Keep the faith. Do not give up if things do not start off with a bang. You want to be faithful in your work for the Lord and not easily dismayed. Share your frustrations and discouragement with your mentors so that the enemy can't use it against you. (Hebrews 12:1)
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Make sure your spouse is behind you. It will be very difficult to plant a church without your spouse's support. Dates nights are great for you and your spouse because ministry can be time-consuming. Schedule time now to prevent problems later.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit church image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com
