Funding: What Does it Cost to Plant a Church?

Episode 727

What does it actually cost to plant a church? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about the fascinating results of a new church planter survey.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

  • A typical breakdown of church plant funding 
  • Financial paths church plants often take
  • How planters should think about ministry financing
  • When most plants become financially self-sustaining
  • How outside church support compares to denominational

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Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches):

Financial self-sustainability begins at about 76 in attendance. @WarrenBird

Self-sustainability takes longer or could be faster in some settings. Setting makes a difference. @EdStetzer 

Funding of churches, like everything else, is becoming more localized. I want to be able to go visit it, help out, see it and and put my body where my money is. @WarrenBird

The greatest growth by percentile happened in churches that had no paid staff members, and churches with a part-time pastor grew faster than those with a full-time pastor. @EdStetzer

To grow anything on scale, if that’s what you think God is doing, if that’s where you think the harvest is, generally the sooner you can work with people’s giving in order to be fully focused on that mission, the better. @WarrenBird

God’s doing all kinds of things in all different ways. This kind of research really helps us think well about church planting. @EdStetzer


Published January 12, 2023

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