Church planting—the process of starting a new Christian church—has a rich and rocky history. Though successful plants have, in turn, sprouted hundreds of other churches, the fact remains that an estimated 80 percent of new churches close within the first five years. This discouraging statistic, together with the logistical and personal challenges involved, is enough to deter even the most optimistic would-be planter.
With the the right planning, however, planting a successful church is certainly possible.Steve Pike, national director of the Church Multiplication Network, has personally helped launch more than 300 churches, including one of his own. “The best way to reach new people is by starting a new church,” he explains of his motivations.
We spoke to Pike and other experts to learn their strategies for success. Here, we highlight the five most important questions you should ask before deciding to plant a church of your own.
Where Will the Church Be Located?
According to Pike, demographic research is one of the first and most important steps in the process. Whether you already have a site in mind or are still searching for the ideal location, “You need to understand who the people in your [prospective] community are,” he says.
Government census figures can help by providing valuable information on specific areas, including objective data on population ethnicity, household income, age, school enrollment and more. You can use this to determine whether a location is ideal for the church you’re envisioning. If you’re budget is limited, for example, you might consider planting a church in a lower-income area, where rent is likely to be cheaper.
Other valuable research tools include Barna: Cities, which compiles survey-based reports on the state of faith in different cities, and ZipSkinny, which allows you to compare U.S. census data with neighboring zip codes. Pike also uses the Association of Religion Data Archives, which allows users to view the number of churches already established in a neighborhood.
A map showing the percentage of Evangelical Protestant members in areas of New York and New Jersey. Copyright © The Association of Religion Data Archives. All rights reserved
Using resources like these to choose a location can also help you define what purpose your church will serve. For example, if you want to plant a church in an area that’s already home to a rich religious culture, the data can guide you to it. However, if you’d rather focus your efforts on reaching non-believers, the data can give you a sense of which neighborhoods to avoid.
New churches can thrive in either type of area. However, some caution that growth can be slow in more secular communities, and that having more churches of the same denomination in one place can be beneficial, as they help build a strong ministry within a community.
That being said, Pike warns church planters not to be overly reliant on numbers and figures when gauging interest for a new church. “You really have to go to that community and meet the people who are part of it, [such as] the culture creators, political and civil leaders and the educators,” he says. “You need to see what the challenges and opportunities are there.”
What Church Planting Method Will You Use?
Just as important as squaring away a location is deciding what method you’ll use to plant your church. Which model you choose will depend greatly on your ministry goals and the culture of the people you plan to serve. Sometimes a combination of planting models will make the most sense.
There are three main methods:
1. Sponsorship From Another Church
In a sponsorship model, you choose to branch out of an existing church, thereby securing an affiliation with the sponsoring church that can provide financial support, new members and other resources down the line.
Within this model, there are several methods that define the level of involvement the sponsoring church will have. These methods can help you decide on the most desirable arrangement and gauge how to approach potential church sponsors:
➔ Initial birth method: The idea for the new church originates from the sponsoring church leaders, and the sponsoring church takes on the majority of the planning and strategizing for the new church (as opposed to the original planter).
➔ Facility partnership method: The idea for a new church may have come from a sponsoring church leader or a familiar pastor. The sponsoring church is on board with the idea, may contribute money to the launch and participates in joint worship and/or fellowship events throughout the life of the new church.
➔ “Spin off” method: The church planter serves on the staff of the sponsoring church for a specified time period (usually about six months) before launching the new church, which is inspired by the sponsoring one.
➔ Adoption method: A third party approaches a potential sponsoring church seeking to collaborate on the design of a church plant or offering a strategy for a church plant. The sponsoring church agrees to contribute assistance and accountability until the new church is autonomous.
➔ Multiple sponsors method: Small churches that want to sponsor a new church but lack the resources necessary can band with others. Multiple churches share the responsibilities for a new church plant. Agreements must be reached among all churches involved to determine the number of resources, level of accountability and amount of supervision each will contribute.
2. Join a Church Planting Network
Another method is to join a church planting network. Many such networks exist, each with varying denominations, resources and requirements for members.
For example, the Church Multiplication Network (CMN) offers training events, legal guidance and logistical support for interested planters. It also features a program that provides up to $30,000 in matching funds for a new qualifying plant. CMN plants churches in the Assemblies of God fellowship, a grouping of churches belonging to the Pentecostal denomination.
CMN churches opened in the U.S. since 2009
Other notable church planting networks include:
➔ 3DM: Church planters and at least two of their supporters register monthly with 3DM to access resources for their launch. These resources include face-to-face, written, audio, video and online coaching sessions.
➔ Stadia: A ministry organization that helps start new churches by offering support in the form of boot camp training, spouse and family support, management teams, bookkeeping and project management. All Stadia church plants commit to invest in future church planting.
➔ Acts29: A network that has planted more than 500 churches around the world, including independent church plants, replanting and creating new churches from existing congregations. Interested planters must submit an application 12 to 18 months before their expected launch. Accepted members agree to allocate a percentage of their new church income to Acts29 and/or affiliated projects.
➔ Launch: This organization helps local churches form networks that identify, train and dispatch church planters. These networks form “hubs” consisting of multiple churches with shared resources and training. Members must secure a parent church before applying.
3. Go It Alone
Alternatively, you may choose to take a more independent church planting route. Pastor Jeremy Copeland, for example, moved from California to North Carolina with his wife in 2008 so he could plant a new church, despite not knowing anyone or having a structured launch strategy in place.
Copeland spent a year and a half connecting with his community, fundraising, planning and reading books about leadership. “I was trying to figure out how people start things and build a healthy culture,” he says. These efforts paved the way for Copeland’s Story Church to officially launch in January 2010, proving that hard work, determination and research can help make up for a lack of direct church planting experience.
Another factor to consider when determining which church planting model you’ll use is whether you’ll be working full-time throughout the process. According to Pike, “It depends on the model of church being started. A full-blown launch started from scratch usually requires the full attention of the lead planter, so having a full-time job would not be recommended.”
“I know one planter who worked full-time at a health club during his start up phase,” he says. “It allowed him to meet people from the community, and when he started, at least half of his first group of attendees were people he met through his job at the health club.”
What Level of Support Do You Have?
Regardless of which planting method you choose, Pike says church planting “is not a solo endeavor.” From setting up a church bank account to designing ads, there are hundreds of tasks that can easily be delegated, so long as you have the proper support network in place.
According to Pike, the amount and nature of the work you delegate will depend on the level of commitment you get from your supporters along with their individual abilities.
“You need a prayer team, a financial support team and a launch team of people willing to join with the planter,” he says. “These will consist of people who already live in the community, or people who will move into the community and will work with the planter in the preparation phase.”
Inspired by sales techniques, Pike says there are three phases to building a strong support group: contacts, prospects and customers. “Contacts” are made by reaching out to the community at large and letting them know that you’re seeking a high level of commitment and participation to help launch your endeavor.
Once people come forward expressing interest, they become part of your “prospects” pool. Finally, a face-to-face conversation is most effective, Pike says, to convert prospects into “customers” that will work closely with you through the launch and beyond.
Keep in mind, however, that supporters don’t necessarily have to be in the same zip code as the church you’re planting to make an impact. Copeland says he often relied on help from home when he made the move to North Carolina, asking former colleagues and congregants for their support.
“I had to keep those relationships from home strong because a lot of those people were giving us $50 or $100 a month so we could survive,” he says.
Is Your Budget Realistic?
Planting a church can be expensive. Though Pike says there are too many variables involved to suggest a minimum fundraising amount, he estimates that $60,000 is a realistic average to cover startup costs.
Keep in mind that startup costs do not count operational expenses—they’re generally one-time expenses incurred during the launch, such as advertising expenditures and acquiring or renovating a building. Operational expenses, on the other hand, are regular costs incurred, such as salaries, recurring community events and rental costs.
Identifying likely sources of revenue (such as tithes and church attendee offerings) can help offset operating costs along with alternative funding sources, such as grants.
“Foundations exist that provide grants if someone comes in and fills a specific need in that community,” PIke explains, citing afterschool care as an example of one of those needs. These funding sources are especially important to identify, as Pike says banks will “generally not” provide startup loans for churches. This is because certain requirements must be met, such as a minimum bank balance or a minimum number of years established to qualify.
You can save money in those vulnerable first months by holding off on securing a church building until your membership grows. In fact, one study found churches that meet in movie theatres and school facilities “exhibit higher attendance” over time. Copeland’s congregation, for example, met in his home before transitioning to temporary locations, and just recently announced they’re about to close on their first permanent facility.
Another long-term cost saving measure is investing in tools that can maximize efficiency. Church management software, for example, can help with fundraising efforts, congregant engagement, internal and external communications, event planning and more.
“For higher capacity churches, certain software can serve as a substitute for a full-time administrator,” says Manny Pollard, church plant specialist for Church Community Builder, who planted a church five years ago. “For a new church plant, instead of paying a part-time administrator for 20 hours a week, imagine cutting that cost to 10 hours.”
One of the “Calendar” functions in Community Church Builder
Pollard acknowledges that the initial cost of software may make some church planters hesitant, but says discounted rates are often available for planters.
How Will You Use the Internet for Outreach?
Congregants have more options than ever before to easily find and pick a church, which is why Pike says it’s important for a new church to have its own website. “The first way [congregants] visit a church is online,” he says. “If your church’s web presence is a poor reflection of what the actual experience is, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.”
Copeland agrees that technology plays a key role in attracting new members. He says social media advertisements and posts can be even more cost-effective than traditional marketing methods, such as full color printed postcards.
“We want to enter into people’s real lives and conversations, so we have to go where they are,” he says. “If someone doesn’t use [social media], they’re ignoring what I think is maybe the greatest tool we’ve ever had to start churches and enter into those conversations with people.”
Copeland’s most effective social media strategies include Facebook ads. During Story Church’s first Sunday mass, Copeland asked attendees to fill out cards explaining how they discovered the new church. “About 20 to 25 percent of our crowd showed up thanks to the Facebook ads,” he says.
Some of Copeland’s most successful Facebook ads
Here are Copeland’s best practices for creating successful Facebook ads:
➔ Display the church’s location. “Itʼs pretty important to put the city of the church in the ad—in our case ‘Durham’,” Copeland says. “People on Facebook donʼt always realize these are local ads—they may assume itʼs a church somewhere in New York.”
➔ Choose your image carefully. Copeland says a compelling picture can be the driving force for potential congregants to click on your ad. For example, the middle image of the baby above is actually Copeland’s own daughter. He says mothers frequently clicked on the ad because they appreciated the personal touch and later told him, “It was too cute not not click.”
➔ Appeal to newcomers. New people tend not to know the area well, so having a map and clear directions pointing to your church can help draw those who have recently moved. With the ad on the far left that displays a highway sign, for example, “Weʼve specifically seen people who just moved into the area show up at our services after seeing it,” Copeland says.
There are a number of other online outlets church planters can leverage for outreach purposes. Twitter can be used to spread short announcements, post promotional content and connect with a global network of users. You can post pictures of church events on Instagram to build a following, and YouTube is great for sharing recorded snippets of your service to entice future attendees. Spend some time exploring the vast platforms available on the Internet and brainstorm creative ways to use them with your supporters.
In addition to the technical and logistical advice outlined above, all the experts we spoke with emphasized that deep faith, flexibility and perseverance are all essential traits in a successful church planter. As with launching any new business, careful planning and hard work are essential for launching an endeavor that flourishes and endures.