How to Start a Church
Opening a Church of Christ Church
Before you get too far along with your plan to start a Church Of Christ church, assess how you'll measure up against the competition.
Thinking about opening a Church Of Christ church? We tell you what you need to know to get started.
The "Un-Denominational" Structure of the Churches of Christ
The Churches of Christ is a pseudo-denominational group of churches that are adamantly opposed to denominational governance and polity. Instead, they prefer to refer to themselves "un-denominational" with no central headquarters or president.
In addition to congregational polity, the Churches of Christ are also extremely conservative and non-creedal; they are fiercely committed to relying exclusively on the Bible for doctrine and restoring practices that existed in Christianity's earliest days. Each Church of Christ congregation is governed by a group of male elders and musical instruments are excluded from worship.
The Churches of Christ movement is very open to church planting efforts and to religious entrepreneurs who emerge from within the tradition. Unfamiliar church planters aren't greeted nearly as enthusiastically as known Church of Christ leaders, so you'll need to develop relationships within the movement prior to announcing your intention to launch a new Church of Christ ministry.
Promoting a New Church of Christ Ministry
A Churches of Christ ministry isn't a good spiritual fit for everyone in your community. While some individuals and family will value the Churches of Christ's distinctive beliefs, others will be put off by the doctrines and practices that make a Church of Christ unique.
So when you promote a new Church of Christ ministry, you'll want to focus your efforts on specific segments of the local community. In business parlance, this is called niche marketing and it is an effective way to attract likely church attenders using focused messaging, marketing vehicles and other techniques.
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Strategic Planning for a Religious Organization Startup
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