What is the Reality of Starting New Churches


I've been watching videos and reading about "church planting," the term used by denominations that are funding new churches. All the material is filled with enthusiasm and stories of success. I've not come on the most important information, numbers.

The link is a fellow who started churches for the Southern Baptist Convention. He claimed to have great success there but left. He started his own consulting business planting churches for any denomination. His schtick is he can go into black urban areas where almost no one goes to church and be successful. 

That is the same strategy as the denomination I grew up in, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). Originally it was a Swedish church but dropped that long ago.  The ECC claims to be growing with some 250,000 members and starting urban churches regularly. I watched a video of its convention last year. The executives, including the Financial Chief, gave glowing reports of how things are going. Filling in between the lines, however, the future and its new churches does not tell a great story.

I suspect the ECC is like most other denominations including Catholics in that is has side enterprises that make some money. The President and Financial Chief gave an enthusiastic review of the home office "reorganization." The reorganization will be nimbler and "bring Jesus to more people." This was happy talk for reducing the staff size. The headquarter building appraised at nine million is for sale because it is only half full, "That money can better be used for our mission." The building has been for sale for many months. Pride was expressed that while the annual budget had run at a loss for several years the loss last year was down to $600,000. Losses have been funded by reserves.  The denomination has made such "progress" the budget will be balanced in three more years.

Half the ECC revenue comes from collection plates and direct donations. That has held up but with an aging membership has to take a nosedive. The other half is from the various business enterprises, retirement homes, a preachers' pension fund, hospitals, health insurance, etc.

These enterprises are the reason for church startups. Denominations as different as the tiny ECC and the huge Catholics need a facade of church members while they run these businesses.

Most of the time, bragging about start up churches means declining membership now and/or in the future.  

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