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You’ve decided that pastoral ministry is your
calling in life, and you want to know
how to
start a church. There are many resources
from which to gather information, and you should
be sure to get sound advice, including legal
advice, from those with experience and expertise
in this area. However, you should seek to
know a little more about the basic process involved
before making a commitment of extensive ministry
funding. Are there a lot of legal and
busines
issues involved? How much do you really need to
know about the ordination process and clergy tax
benefits? Are you the one who will be ordained,
or will that be someone else? And,
how do you make sure the church and its minister
start off on the right path?
When deciding
how to start a church,
you should first decide whether group
fellowship or denominational possibilities exist
in your future. Perhaps you are firm about
starting an independent congregation, or maybe
you never quite felt comfortable with that
culture and have decided to seek out more
information on how to form a denomination or,
group fellowship. This is a very important part
of the start up process because it is difficult
to be motivated toward a goal that you haven’t
thought through very well, or don’t have much
faith in.
After you’ve decided whether the church you
start will be independent or group affiliated,
you’ll want to read up on state and local codes
and regulations regarding
how to start a
church including taxation and formation
issues.
Every city, county and state is different in
the allowances and restrictions regarding church
incorporation, the number and type of tax
exemptions, and even their history with church
organizations. Be
sure you are aware of all of the requirements
and possibilities available in your area.
Once you have this under control,
you can begin to focus on how legal and
business matters intersect with the
religious aspects of starting a church. This
should involve an examination of how the
Internal Revenue Service and state agencies
define churches and clergy for tax law
purposes. Many church leaders consider it a
wise investment of time, money, and energy
to build a ministry that will also be able
to take full advantage of the special tax
benefits available at the state and federal
level.
For those who have previously gone through
the process, you understand that knowing
how to start a church also involves
intelligent fundraising and promotion. You
may experience criticism, and you will
certainly run into hard times, so taking on
this responsibility, especially if you plan
to pastor the church, is not for the weak of
spirit. But there doesn’t have to be a lot
of strain on the individual in charge of the
startup. It’s a good idea with begin with
the encouragement and support of your
spiritual community to remain uplifted. Are
you prepared to take on such a task? If so,
you can find a wealth of information to assist you
on this website.
In particular, take a close look at the
amazing church-starting resource entitled
Building On Faith:
Everything You Need To Know About Starting
Your Own Church. It's the gold
standard in use today by hundreds of church
start-ups nationwide. And it's written by
Abe Hernandez, Esq., a devoted Christian and
church law expert.
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