HOW MUCH SHOULD IT COST TO PLANT A NEW CHURCH?

Recent data in my denomination (UMC) showed a typical range of between $300,000 and $500,000 in denominational subsidy per new church plant, depending on the region and how deep its pockets. And roughly 2/3 of the projects survived the first five years. However, this measures only the denominational monetary contribution - typically in the first three years. The real cost of a church plant also includes donations by members and participants, sponsoring churches and other friends of the church. And it sometimes includes a donated building!

A decade ago, I became a champion for the low budget planting methods for one reason - when you can get something planted, and self-sustaining, as fast and cheaply as possible, then money will not block that church from replicating itself quickly. Viral movements correlate with relatively low-cost planting strategies.   They also change the nature of the church in ways that I failed to fully grasp.

Today, I am torn. On one hand, conventional church planting is more expensive than ever in the United States - driven by soaring costs in theological education, pastoral health insurance and in building construction. But, there is no way to do church as we have come to know it and expect it in America without getting into serious money. Experimental, low-budget, house-church, fresh expression - kinds of gatherings are great! But seldom - in America - do we see them take off and scale up, unless we morph them into a more expensive operational model.

If your judicatory encourages simple, creative, low-cost ventures in people gathering - excellent! Expect around twenty percent of those endeavors to show promise that they could become much more than just a simple experiment. And expect that there will be a hefty price tag for them to move to the next stage.

Add in the fact that church - participation is crashing nationwide - especially among populations that are younger, more affluent, or more educated.

Add in also: when twenty-first century folks decide to give church a try, they do not come with open pocketbooks. It takes years to develop the kind of financial commitments that earlier generations would bring almost to the starting line of their church participation.

Given these realities - I am recommending the following:

(1) A church-planting program today should include a mix of low-cost experimental projects (relying on borrowed space and donated labor) and more conventional projects (that come with full-time staff and a building). Obviously we have to be careful to follow all the best practices with the latter - because of the price tag.

(2) The parachute drop church plant (pastor starting out at full salary in a place where she has little prior experience or relationships) is rarely a good idea anymore. This is about the best way that a judicatory can quickly blow $500,000 and deeply disappoint 100 people (only 1/3 of whom are present on any given Sunday) when they decide (2-3 years in) to stop their funding.

(3) The expectation that a typical church plant can be self-sustaining in three years should be adjusted. Obviously, denominations won't be able to start as many new churches - unless they tap into other funding streams. At the very least, judicatories should stretch the three-year funding plan to five years.

(4) Rather than turning on the funding fire-hose full blast in the first year - we should consider a low cost start that gathers a launch team in year one (and maybe into year two), while the planting pastor still has another day job. The resulting external funding pattern is no longer a straight line down from day one of the plant, but more of a bell curve: with a peak in the year that the church launches public worship and/or the year that the pastor goes full-time.

(5) New churches need multiple funding sources in the early years! The denominational grant could be matched by local money in most cases (the tithes and offering of the planting team themselves plus investment from a sponsoring church, funds from sale of an old church property, and other local income, perhaps from shared-building use or income-generating kinds of ministry).  The more local money invested early in the game, the better!

(6) If a new church is showing promise and the judicatory has assets from sale of property or closed churches - it is reasonable to give generously to the first building campaign for the new church - matching dollar for dollar what the members raise!

Twenty years ago, I was the planting pastor of a faith community in Florida. We launched with almost 600 people on Day 1 and averaged 300 per week in Year 1. The church grew to more than 1000 weekly worshippers in its first decade, and has remained strong across the years. This happened without a dime of denominational subsidy. So the denomination could think of us as a low-cost plant. But, in fact, the first phase of our building and land cost $6.5 million in today's dollars, provided for us by the mother church (a significant capital campaign), along with a staff of six. We could have delayed the building until year 3, and met in a nearby elementary school. But ultimately, it gets expensive, no matter what order you take thing.

Think of it like this: the typical middle class church with 1000 attendees today has a $2.5 million budget, and may also see a capital campaign income of another $1 million in any given year. $3500 per attendee! That is the cost of doing church in America the way we do it. We don't fault that church for an expensive operational model, because their members are paying for it themselves. In our (1999) case there was a start-up cost: about 1.5 to 2 times what would be the annual operational cost for the church planted.  In time, the church grew to assume total responsibilities for its day-to-day costs.

You want to plant a church that will operate on a $500,000 annual budget? It means you better find a million dollars to pump into that church over its first 5 to 7 years, not counting the building! In addition you had better choose a pastor with the appropriate start-up skills, who is ready to give a decade to the endeavor. No short cuts in the pastoral search!

That is my short answer on the cost of planting a new church in America in the 2020's.