How to Start a Church: 5 Simple Steps

Around 47% of people in this country are part of a church, yet many more occasionally attend church services. 

When you have a heart for people and for spreading the news of Jesus, you might feel a need to start a church in your area. If you can do this and effectively market your church, you might attract people that aren’t currently part of one.

If you’re serious about this, you might wonder how to start a church. The good news is that it’s not overly complicated.

In fact, here are five steps to starting a church that you can follow to get yours going.

1. Build a Group of People for the Church

It might be helpful to build a group of people around you that all have the same heart and mind for wanting to start a church. After all, it’s easier to start a church with a group of people than by yourself.

You can meet with this group in your home and discuss your goals. You can also discuss the types of churches in your area and the demand for another one.

2. Complete the Legalities for It

Once you decide to start the church, you’ll have numerous legalities to complete. Running a church requires setting up a non-profit organization, so you’ll likely need a lawyer to assist.

You’ll also need to create the church bylaws, mission statement, and church name. Additionally, you may need to choose people to handle specific duties for the church. 

3. Find a Place to Meet

Next, you’ll need to find a place to meet. Many churches start in homes, as this is a cost-effective method. Others rent spaces to meet, such as a local school. 

At some point, you’ll need an actual building for your church to meet. You may want to buy an existing church or building to use, or build one. 

While this might seem like a lot of work so far, you must keep in mind the benefits of religion. By offering a new church, you could attract many non-churchgoers, which is one vital element of a church’s mission.

4. Choose Leaders 

Additionally, managing a church requires leaders. Therefore, you must choose leaders to handle the church management tasks, including a minister, elders, and deacons.

These individuals take on essential roles in the church, so you must select them wisely.

5. Handle the Finances

Finally, starting a church also requires creating a budget for the finances. How will you generate money when starting the church? What bills will you have?

Keep in mind; that you’ll have expenses for rent, utilities, salaries, church cleaning, and more. 

Start a Church and Invite People to It

You can follow these five steps to start a church. Once you’re ready to begin, you can start inviting people. You may want to use outreach programs to find people to invite and begin Bible studies and classes for kids and adults.

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