Starting a Church – Steps to Starting a Church From Scratch

Organizationally, starting a church from scratch is similar to putting up a company or organization. Where people of the same faith and interest gather together to agree to put up an institution. Starting a church is only unique in a way that it is meant to spread the Gospel and to uplift the spirituality and lives of its church goers.

It is really important at this day and age where more and more people are dechurched and unchurched that church should be built. Too many souls are lost and too many are engrossed in earthly pursuit. Doing this can be tough but nevertheless necessary to bring back the “soul” of America.

In starting a church from scratch, it is necessary to have a core group. A mere 20 or more committed people will already suffice to start it. The best way to start it is to hold a conference facilitated by somebody who has already experienced putting up a church himself or is in a established church already. The reason of which is that experience is a very valuable contribution at this stage. To have somebody help concretize the desire to put up a living, breathing church where the community can attend to hear the Gospel.

Do not expect that it can be done in just one conference. Realistically, the take off of a church usually starts after a series of meeting. Starting from few people to the involvement of more and more people to make the establishment of the church possible. This can be done by announcing your conferences to as many people as possible. You can announce it via the local radio station, distribution of flyers, posting in the bulletin boards of the local grocery store, etch. The idea is to spread the word to as many number of people possible.

Once you have convened enough people to already start a church, it may be helpful for you to ask help from a professional who is an expert in organizational development and planning. The church, just like any organization needs structure to function with clearly defined functions and responsibilities and how to carry them out. Such is why outside help is important for the organizational structure of a new church.

It will also be important to determine how will the leadership of the newly established church should go about. Will you have ministers or pastors? Or do you have a local leader who is Christ centered whom people can identify with when you involve him? Who does what? Bear in mind that the start-up is the most important phase of starting a church as slight disagreement and mistake can break the church which is still in its infancy.

And when you already have a workable structure, it is important to ask how the Scriptures will be shared to touch the lives of the church goers and increase its membership. The physical structure of the church needs to be discussed too.

And more importantly, its appointed church leaders must commit themselves to the Word of God that they may be able to start and establish a church not only in the community but also within them and their flock.