What If There’s No Money for My Church Plant?

The dream of church planting is incredibly exciting: starting something new, building a community, bringing innovations to life. However, the reality of church planting can hit hard — gathering actual human beings together, learning employment and nonprofit laws, and finding ways to fund the ministry (among many other bumps in the road you’ll inevitably encounter).

When I started my church planting journey over ten years ago, I knew that making ends meet for our household was going to change, but I didn’t realize just how different my work life would become. Although I had never earned a large salary from previous church work, it was steady and could be budgeted for. 

When we planted our church, life came at us fast: we were starting from scratch. I’m grateful that our “small church with a big heart” has been able to support me part-time throughout this journey. However, I’ve also had to balance my church work with other jobs to help provide for our family. That has meant some really tough choices in how I spend my time. In the early years of our church, I went above and beyond in terms of the hours I put into our ministry while maintaining the hours and effort required at my other jobs (graphic design, administrative assistant, textbook designer, web editor, among others). There are only so many hours in a day, so I sacrificed sleep and rarely had any days off.

Was it worth it? For me, yes. I continue to believe in our community and find great joy in being a part of it. I’m at peace with the choices I’ve made, but it has not been easy — and I know this lifestyle isn’t workable for everyone. I wish there was a simpler way for church planters to draw a steady income. But I’ve learned that no matter how you slice it, getting paid by the church you start is never simple. 

Church Planters and Their Wages 

Years ago, I remember meeting a trio of would-be church planters who sensed God’s call to plant a church in San Diego. They went door-to-door sharing their vision and soliciting support, particularly from denominational mid-councils, to fund their salaries in particular. Before I share their ask, let me preface this by saying three things: 

1. I firmly believe in 1 Timothy 5:18, “The laborer deserves to be paid.” Church planting is real, authentic, hard work. This is a real job, worthy of wages.
2. I do not question their sense of calling. I can’t read their minds or hearts, and they seemed sincere in their desire to start a new church. 
3. It doesn’t hurt to ask. “‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’ — Wayne Gretsky — Michael Scott” 

That being said, I was genuinely surprised when I heard that this trio requested salary support in the amount of $100,000 each to start this church. Even factoring in the cost of living in this region (which is quite expensive), their approach seemed woefully out-of-touch. If $300,000 was just the starting point, then what would the rest of their ministry budget look like? 

Mission-Centered Budgeting (Start from Zero) 

I want to invite you to imagine a different way of budgeting. Let’s leave behind old ways of budgeting that:

• Begin from a place of fear: “How the heck am I going to make ends meet?”
• Focus on meeting metrics: “If I don’t get 100 attendees within the first 3 months, I’m done for”
• Dwell on scarcity: Focusing on what you don’t have

Instead, let’s imagine ways of budgeting that:

• Originate from a place of love: How amazing would it be if Jesus’ love, freely given and received, were the basis for your financial and ministry plans? 
• Stay true to purpose: “How can we faithfully serve God and the actual human beings around us?”
• Believe in God’s abundance: Investing what you do have in partnership with God’s purposes

I’m going to ask you a question that might curl your toes: what ministry would still be possible even if you never had access to another dollar again? Or, to put it another way: If you knew you would never get paid for it, how would you design your church differently? Spiritual conversations are free. Creativity, laughter, and joy can all happen with or without financial support. You can read Scripture with others, volunteer to read books to kids at your local library, and make friends with people in your neighborhood without any additional funding. Certainly, there is a real investment in terms of time and effort, but there’s tremendous value for church planters in taking a fresh look at what is and is not possible without financial funding. 

Blessings that Come from Having No Funding 

We would do well to critically examine the assumption that “more money = more blessings” (The Notorious B.I.G. had a few things to say about that!). Some truly faithful and loving leaders never end up with access to much funding; and, conversely, some problematic leaders seem to have way too much money. 

Although it’s tough when you don’t have access to funding, I want to leave you with a few thoughts around some possible blessings that happen when you lack funding: 

1. You move at the speed of relationship. Not having money means you can’t just double down on bigger, flashier programs when you hit bumps in the road. The focus really will be on the people and communities around you. 
2. You can focus on what you do have. Christian Community Development Association says, “Christian Community Development affirms the dignity of individuals and collaborates with neighbors to leverage community resources and assets to bring about sustainable change… (and is) committed to listening to their neighbors and hearing their dreams, ideas and thoughts. By actively listening, we can identify community assets, opportunities, and needs and then cultivate, implement and benefit from a shared vision for our community. Asset-based community development (ABCD) focuses on identifying the assets of a community and then building upon them.” 
3. You will become more creative. Creativity applies to more than just visual arts but, rather, includes things like problem-solving, hustle, and collaboration with others. 
4. You will grow in trusting God (and others). Pastors often get stuck in the weeds, spending more time than they’d like on real estate, program planning, or budgeting. Removing finances from that equation leaves a lot more time to prayerfully focus on the main reason you started a new church — to serve and love God and those around you.

Looking Ahead 

In the coming blogs, we’re going to spend a bit more time answering questions about funding. 

• What is your mission and what funds are actually necessary for your mission? 
• How do you design revenue streams?
• If you have other questions around funding your church plant, we’d love to hear them. Drop me a line at daniel@cyclicalinc.com. 

For now, I want to help you free yourself from the unhealthy expectation that every church just HAS money and every pastor just GETS paid. If you’re struggling with finances, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. You’re not alone, we’re right here with you on this journey.