Church “startups” are spreading across America

These days, Christian pastors have a lot in common with the parents from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids – because their congregations are steadily shrinking across the US.

And, to combat this decline, some entrepreneurial networks are taking a new, VC-style approach to religious participation by funding a growing number of startup churches.

The franchise treatment

These funding groups, established as nonprofit organizations, provide money and mentoring to Christian church founders in exchange for a continuing cut of revenue, which is invested in opening more new Christian churches.

The networks also deploy marketing, branding, and social-media strategies for the churches they fund – similar to conventional franchise businesses.

• The largest such network, the Association of Related Churches (ARC), provides church founders with up to $100,000 as a no-interest loan. If the church succeeds, ARC receives a portion of its annual revenue moving forward.
• ARC has started 1,114 churches since 2001, including 40 last year. Officials say ~90% of the churches ARC invests in are still operating after five years, with the organization reporting $16.8 million in revenue for 2022.

Zoom out: Traditional religious affiliation may have more in common with moon phases than previously thought – its popularity is waning (🌘).

Recent studies show Catholic, evangelical, and mainline Protestant churches losing membership in the US, partly because more young people are forgoing any religious affiliation. The percentage of American adults who attend religious services every week or nearly every week has fallen from 42% two decades ago to 30% last year, per Gallup polling.

👀 Looking ahead… Experts say the rise of startup churches could help draw Christian Americans back to the pews, since their anti-institutional vibe – featuring high-energy bands and entertaining sermons – fits the current mood in much of the US.