church business plan examples

• Church Office Packages

Shepherdbase

Pastoral Recordbase

• Church Forms CD
• Accounting Book
• Aplos Accounting Software
• Offering Envelopes
• FreeChurchForms Blog
• Organize Your Office Ebook
• Organizing Computer Files
• The Form Gallery Newsletter
• Church Certificates
• Financial Forms
• Church Budget
• Church Fundraisers
• Contributions
• Membership Forms (Active, Inactive, Transfer)
• Secretarial Duties, Job Descriptions, Resume
• Holiday Forms (Christmas, Pastor Appreciation...)
• Church Ministry Forms
• Baby Dedication
• Background Check
• Bible Study
• Bill Organizer
• Business Plan
• Church Anniversary
• Church Attendance
• Church Audit
• Church Board
• Church Brochures
• Church Bulletin
• Church Bylaws
• Church Counseling
• Church Directory
• Church Funeral
• Church Goals, Vision...
• Church Inventory
• Church Invitations
• Church Letters
• Church Maintenance
• Church Newsletter
• Church Officers
• Church P&Ps
• Church Reimbursement
• Church Security
• Church Surveys
• Church Visitors
• Confidentiality
• Consent Forms
• Emergency Plans
• End of Year Checklist
• Event Planning
• Human Resources
• Job Descriptions
• Pastoral Forms
• Request Forms
• Scheduling Forms
• Scholarships
• Technical Needs
• Thank You Cards
• Use of Equipment
• Use of Facility
• Privacy Policy

Church Sample Business Plan

Church Sample Business Plan available free to download, customize and print for your administrative office..

Do you have a Business Plan for your church? If not, then you can start now with the sample below to help you create your own plan for your church.

Strategic planning is a very important part of the creation, development and growth of your church or any other organization.

Church business planning allows the ability to map out strategic steps to help your organization achieve their mission and vision.

The Church Business Plans Needs to Include:

• Mission and Vision Statements - You need statements to help explain where your church is going and why you want to get there and the principles that guide the organization.
• Market Research - This will determine if there is a need for what your church offers in the community. Make sure to get the opinions of the people who live in the community. Provide detailed information about competing churches in your area to find out what they offer and who they appeal to. Provide detailed information on how your church can fill in gaps with ministries to various age groups and community activities.
• Marketing Plan - This plan should explain how you will let prospective attendees how about your church and its unique offerings, such as by advertising your worship services, Bible studies and children's activities in the local paper. Don't forget to include a plan for building a website, getting free publicity through local publications and radio stations, and encouraging your congregation to invite others to join your church.
• Management Team - Explain in detail including their past experience in helping the church grow the management team that will be implementing the plan. If they don't have experience at other churches, discribe any other business successes they have achieved. Include a little background information on the people who will be impacting the plan's success, such as the Pastor and Youth Fellowship Leaders.
• Daily Operation of Church - Explain in steps the daily operation of your church including the duties of the administrator, minister, staff and volunteers who lead studies or group activities. Describe the church facility where you hold services and classes, and insert costs involved in moving to a larger facility once membership increases. List the equipment you will need over the next few years for the church, and this sectin should alsi include the insurance coverage the church carries.
• Financial Reports - Provide the church financial information as the final section of the plan including operating budgets, last 3 years of financial statements as well as 3 yars of forecasted projections including profit and loss statements. The profit and loss statements need to have all the potential contributions made to the church as well as expenses (Pastor's salary, utilities, rental space, etc.). Also include information on how your church qualifies as a non-profit organization to stay exempt from paying taxes.
• 1-3 Page Executive Summary - This is the last step but place it at the beginning of the plan. This summary needs to express the most important parts of the plan so that's why it's best to create it after you finish your plan.

Note: You will need Adobe Reader (the latest version is recommended) installed on your computer in order to save or open these forms. You can get Adobe Reader free here (a new window will open so you can download it without leaving this page). If you want to open the file in your browser window, just click on one of the links above. However, if you want to download the file to view later, then right-click on the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save File As". Then select where you want to save the file on your hard drive.

Note:   These sample forms are meant to serve as example forms and should not be construed as legal documents.  Please contact a legal professional for legal language for your specific organization.

Free eBook - "Top 10 Tips on How to Organize Your Office"

when you...

Subscribe to "The Form Gallery"

FreeChurchForms.com Monthly Newsletter (Free)

**The information above will be secure and your privacy will be maintained.** Click here to read and accept the FreeChurchForms.com Privacy Policy (GDPR Update).

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Return to Home Page from Church Sample Business Plan.

Home  |  FCF Blog  |  Contact | About | Terms of Use

Special Offer Packages

Church membership - contribution software, church events/sermons tracker software, church forms cd (all forms on this website), church resources, misc. free resources, free certificates, church secretary forms, holiday forms..., ministries (ss, vbs, youth...), misc. church forms, terms of use.

Church Forms...CD

Collection of all the Church Forms , Flyers, Certificates...(1,000+) on FreeChurchForms.com available on CD or Instant Download - each form available in Microsoft Office Word editable format. Plus 5 Free Bonuses !

The Church Forms CD is Convenient and Saves Time

Need an Affordable, User Friendly Church Membership Database? Shepherdbase Could Be Just What You Have Been Looking For... Available on CD or Instant Download.

• User Friendly
• Tracks Memberships, Contributions, Attendance, Etc.
• Instant Access to Church Directory, Contributions, Attendance, Etc.

Need an Affordable, User Friendly Event/Sermon Tracking Database? Pastoral Recordbase Could Be Just What You Have Been Looking For.  Available on CD or Instant Download.

• Tracks Events (Baptisms, funerals, etc.)
• Tracks Sermons (Pastor's or minister's sermons)
• Tracks Phone Numbers (Pastor's phone book)
• Tracks Church Info (Name, address, etc.)

Special Offer!

Church Office Package#1

( Shepherdbase CD & Church Forms CD with 1,000+ forms, flyers...along with Free Bonuses ) - Also Instant Download Available!

Church Office Package#2

( Shepherdbase CD, Church Forms CD with 1,000+ forms... & Pastoral Recordbase CD along with Free Bonuses ) - Also Instant Download Available!

Church Offering Envelope Templates

Very easy to download, modify and print on your blank envelopes.

Powerful Church Software

Are you tired of trying to manage your church from several different systems and spreadsheets?

You need Aplos.

Cloud-based software to handle your accounting, people, and giving from one  platform.

Church Finances Accounting Book

Are you stressed about your church accounting? If yes, then you need this accounting book!

Visitor Testimonials

• 7. So much more.

Does your church use QuickBooks? If yes, then the "QuickBooks for Churches and Other Religious Organizations" by Lisa London, CPA eBook below is a must for you!

Lisa will walk you through QuickBooks from start to finish, complete with examples, terminology, and everything a busy church administrator or bookkeeper needs to know. For more information just click the link above!

Check out FreeChurchForms.com on Your Mobile!

Copyright © 2009 - 2024 FreeChurchForms.com Powered by Solo Build It

Need a business plan? Call now:

Talk to our experts:

• Business Plan for Investors
• Bank/SBA Business Plan
• Operational/Strategic Planning
• L1 Visa Business Plan
• E1 Treaty Trader Visa Business Plan
• E2 Treaty Investor Visa Business Plan
• EB1 Business Plan
• EB2 Visa Business Plan
• EB5 Business Plan
• Innovator Founder Visa Business Plan
• UK Start-Up Visa Business Plan
• UK Expansion Worker Visa Business Plan
• Manitoba MPNP Visa Business Plan
• Start-Up Visa Business Plan
• Nova Scotia NSNP Visa Business Plan
• British Columbia BC PNP Visa Business Plan
• Self-Employed Visa Business Plan
• OINP Entrepreneur Stream Business Plan
• LMIA Owner Operator Business Plan
• ICT Work Permit Business Plan
• LMIA Mobility Program – C11 Entrepreneur Business Plan
• USMCA (ex-NAFTA) Business Plan
• Franchise Business Planning 
• Landlord Business Plan 
• Nonprofit Start-Up Business Plan 
• USDA Business Plan
• Cannabis business plan 
• eCommerce business plan
• Online Boutique Business Plan
• Mobile Application Business Plan
• Daycare business plan
• Restaurant business plan
• Food Delivery Business Plan
• Real Estate Business Plan
• Business Continuity Plan
• Buy Side Due Diligence Services
• ICO whitepaper
• ICO consulting services
• Confidential Information Memorandum
• Private Placement Memorandum
• Feasibility study
• Fractional CFO
• How it works
• Business Plan Examples

Church Business Plan Example

Published Oct.12, 2016

Updated Apr.22, 2024

By: Cynthia Turner

Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 3

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Table of Content

There are billions of Christians in the world today. They all need a sanctuary that they can visit on Sunday and during the week for prayer sessions, weddings, and other religious activities. If you are a professional evangelist, or you have the necessary credentials required to start and run a church, nothing should stop you from setting up your church.

Even though a church is not business as per say, you still need a church business plan to help you make the right decisions. OGS Capital is a group of business plan writers and industry experts who have been writing business plans for not only churches but also companies in a wide array of fields. We take pride in the fact that our church business plans have helped clergymen and clergywomen to set up churches all across the globe and preach the Gospel to millions of people.

Reasons why you need Professional Church Business Plans

To create a mission and vision.

Without a mission and vision of where you want to achieve from the church after a given number of years, you will not succeed in your mission to have a church. Our team of experts will help you to create a mission and vision statements that you can use to show the congregation the goals and objectives that you want to achieve. This section of the church business plan also helps one to get potential investors who would be willing to donate funds for the construction of the church and purchase of the required equipment.

We will also help you come up with;

• A financial model to guide you on how to spend your capital
• A strategic plan to keep you on the right track as the church expands
• A professional executive summary that gives an overview of the church

Market research and Analysis

As mentioned earlier, a church is not like a conventional business. However, it is still important to carry out market research and analysis to know if there is a need to start a church in your community. One way of knowing if you should go ahead and set up the church is by consulting the community members. Put their feedback into consideration to make the right decision.

To save you time and resources, our team of professionals church business plans writers will carry out an intensive market research and analysis and include the results in the reports. We will also go an extra mile and explain the results of our study to you to steer you in the right direction.

Creating a Marketing Plan

How will you inform the prospective attendees about your church and the unique offerings such as Sunday services? Starting a church and waiting for people to stream in every Sunday is counterproductive. You need to get down to work and come up with ways of informing the target audience about your church and the reasons why they should choose to join.

Our professional marketing experts will come up with a set of marketing strategies to help you advertise your worship services. In the current highly digitalized world, you need a website and a mobile application to disseminate information better and affordably. We will create a plan on how to go about the process of creating an interactive website and refer you to a reputable web development agency that has personnel with the required web development skills and expertise.

Describe the Management Team

The management team is a group or groups of people who will help you manage the church. Information about these teams needs to be included in the plan to show that you have personnel who can make the decisions that are in line with the goals and virtues of your church. Our team will organize several meetings to get details of the management team and include them in the business plan. We will also give you insights on the right people who should be part of the management team.

Get in touch with us today for a professional business plan writing service for your church. We will tailor the plan to suit your preferences and objectives. Fill the form to get in touch with our support team.

OGS capital staff also specialize in writing business plans such as home staging business plan , eyelash extension business plan , horse boarding business plan , locksmith business plan , plumbing business plan and etc.

Download example church business plan pdf

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

Ice Vending Machine Business Plan

OGScapital at the National Citizenship and Immigration Conference

How to Start a Plumbing Business in 2024: A Detailed Guide

Vegetable Farming Business Plan

Trading Business Plan

How To Write A Textile Manufacturing Business Plan

Any questions? Get in Touch!

We have been mentioned in the press:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Search the site:

• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Pinterest
• Share through Email

Church Business Management: How & Why To Run Your Church Like A Business

In a very practical way, your church’s management practices represent a ceiling for your growth and progress. For the pastor who wants to improve or supplement their skills with top-ranked church management systems, there are a dizzying number of possibilities. That being said, as a ministry leader, I rarely considered the work I did as […]

In a very practical way, your church's management practices represent a ceiling for your growth and progress. For the pastor who wants to improve or supplement their skills with top-ranked church management systems , there are a dizzying number of possibilities.

That being said, as a ministry leader, I rarely considered the work I did as 'management.' Today, though, I have a much clearer understanding. As I spend time reflecting on the meetings, generating financial reports , overseeing volunteers , the standard operating procedures, etc. I see had a ton of business administration skills I didn’t even know I had!

The issue, though, was this: I didn’t think of myself or my church leaders as business management material.

I want to help church leadership shift your thinking about church business management. At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, running a church or nonprofit is still running a business, just with some tweaks here and there.

Let’s start by defining all of our terms and then start getting you to think about church management from a different point of view so you can lead your local church effectively.

I’ll cover:

What is church business management, is a church a business or an organization, what are the advantages of a church being a business.

• Conducting Church Business

What are we talking about when we discuss church business management? It’s a fair question.

For the purposes of this article, we are going to define church business management as managing the organizational, financial , and administrative side of the local church as a legal nonprofit organization .

This isn’t the most fun thing—it’s not why you spent time working on a degree program earning credit hours just so you could think about a church management system, but it is a part of the job description . So let’s practice good stewardship and manage the business infrastructure of the church well!

If you are in full-time church leadership, then this will affect you differently than those who are bi-vocational or part-time because you will have higher expectations to run the church organization than those who split their time. However, it is a critical skill set for all lead pastors to develop.

Sign up for regular insights on how to pastor and lead better.

• Your email *
• By submitting this form, you agree to receive our newsletter, and occasional emails related to The Lead Pastor. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more details, please review our Privacy Policy . We're protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

What Is Church Management?

Church management, at the level we are talking about, deals with the whole of the church as a religious organization. From pastoral care to preaching to budgeting and human resource management skills, all of this is part of church management .

While there is some overlap between church administration and church management, these two typically fall into these categories: religious and business . A local church organization is expected to perform both well, but it is the role of the lead pastor to focus on a whole church business management approach that encompasses both.

What Is Church Administration?

Now, church administration focuses more on mobilizing the church as a religious organization from the standpoint of financial management and human resource management. The goal is the same as with church management, but the administrative side of things applies more to managing the business efforts and real-time needs of the church as a nonprofit business.

This is where many pastors begin to feel ill-equipped. Managing a business or an organization isn’t what you signed up for, right? Well, let’s discuss this.

Read more about how to set up church administration here .

The answer to this question lies within an unusual space: tax code ! If we peer into the definitions of a 501(c)(3) tax code for a nonprofit organization under “religious” reasons, then we see the language of “organization” a lot.

However, there is also language that refers to “business income” for money that comes in outside of donations (often in the form of tithes and offerings). You can also see that, in reference to employees, they must be given pay based on fair market value. This means they must be paid appropriately based on an equivalent role outside of the nonprofit status.

This all means that we can see church as both a business and an organization ! Yet, many lead pastors don’t shift their thinking to that of church business management. If a lead pastor can make that mental shift, though, there are many advantages that come into play.

If, at the end of the day, you are running your nonprofit organization, the local church, then you will need to make sure that all of the activities your church engages in are aligned with the religious organization’s initial purpose.

Ideally, these will be rooted in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, helping those in need, and equipping others to do the same.

As a religious organization, it can be easy to give people every grace and opportunity to perform their duties admirably and that would be fulfilling your role in church management but not church administration. Although, it would align with the purpose of the church, right?

Let’s look at it from another perspective, though.

What if you had a staff member who didn’t perform the duties outlined in their job description but were seen as exemplary members of the congregation? You might be hesitant to reprimand or even fire this staff member.

From a church business management perspective, though, you are well within your rights to take action. In fact, from a purely business perspective there is a responsibility for you to fiercely defend the purpose of your church as a faith-based nonprofit.

Living into your role as someone overseeing church business management puts you in the place of defender of the congregation and the mission of your local church ! This, combined with the responsibility to also share the love of Jesus, allows you to take stances you might otherwise be too nervous to take.

With this in mind, how can we best conduct the business of the church?

Conducting Church Business 

Activities like fundraising, outreach, and pastoral care are all important parts of operating a church well, but they aren’t managing the church as a business. 

These church business activities tend to look like the parts that don’t seem like as much fun:

• Creating business plans
• Organizing church business meetings
• Casting a mission and vision in alignment with the original purpose of the nonprofit organization
• Human resource management
• Financial management
• Creating a church management program

These are the tasks that tend to suck the life and energy out of many pastoral leaders, yet they are equally important to make sure the church organization continues on for years to come!

Directly relating your work within the church business management portion of your role to the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ will go a long way to helping turn away this negative mindset. Budgeting so that your church can be the hands and feet of Jesus in your community is just as important as going and serving the orphans and widows directly.

With this in mind, it’s time to discuss these specific details: church business plans and church business meetings .

Church Business Plans

If your local church doesn’t already have a church business plan set up, then one of your greatest tasks in your church business management role will be to get working on one.

A clearly defined, actionable church business plan will help you and your congregation consistently work towards goals and tasks that will further the mission of your church. Whether it is investing more time into fundraising for a specific opportunity, improvement, or staff hire or assessing what it takes to create an online program for a specific ministry, the business plan will keep you on track.

Don’t think of the church business plan as some rigid outline for what you have to do, but as a document to keep the church leadership accountable to what your congregation believes is vital to accomplishing your mission and vision as a church .

Then, comes the onslaught of meetings you might find yourself involved in.

More Articles

11 best worship conferences for church leaders in 2024, 10 best church leadership training programs in 2024, the 11 best church technology conferences 2024, ten non-negotiables of church management solution requirements, 6 best church media conferences to learn from the best in 2024, church business meetings.

Church business will ultimately require more than a few meetings. Again, these are important to keep your mission and vision in sight and on track at all times , but they can be overwhelming.

Having a simple, efficient church business meeting agenda can help streamline these meetings. This will help them not feel as daunting and keep everyone focused and feeling they have been heard and listened to.

Recognize that many of your church leadership are likely volunteers taking plenty of time out of their life for these meetings . So treat them with the respect they deserve and treat each church business meeting as critical to the mission and vision of the church .

Church Business Management Is Missional

Thinking of church business management as missional work for the body of Christ and your local congregation can go a long way to alleviating any fears and doubts you might have about running the church like a business.

At the end of the day, operating a church like a business is actually a critical piece of fulfilling the mission of the local church! Embrace the business side of church management, become the fierce defender and protector of your church’s finances, human resources, physical resources, and enthusiasm to share the love of Jesus Christ with the world!

I can only imagine how much more successful my ministry would have been with this focus on church business management. I hope you are better equipped now than I was during my time in vocational ministry!

If you want to keep learning and growing, then please keep exploring and studying about the intersection of church management and business management at The Lead Pastor blog! If you're planning a new church, read more about how to start a church here .

RELATED READ: 10 Best Church Management Software

11 Top Pastor Conferences To Learn From The Best In 2024

How to Write a Business Plan for Churches

• Small Business
• Business Planning & Strategy
• Write a Business Plan
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Pinterest" aria-label="Share on Pinterest">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Reddit" aria-label="Share on Reddit">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Flipboard" aria-label="Share on Flipboard">

How to Write a Good Project Proposal for Donor Funding

How do i get a grant for a nonprofit, how to write a business plan for a gas station.

• How to Make a Business Plan for a Newspaper
• How to Write a Business Plan for Indoor Party Centers

New or established churches that want to grow must write business plans that lay out their vision and provide detailed information for the future. A solid, working business plan requires a big investment of time and thought. But once the plan is written and approved, use it as a road map to reach your goals while ministering to current and prospective members who are enthused about what your church offers.

Develop mission and vision statements. These statements help explain where the church is going, why you want to get there and the principles that guide the organization.

Conduct market research to determine if there is a need for what your church offers in the community. Talk to current members and people who live in the community to get their opinions. This section should also provide detailed information about competing churches in the area to find out what they offer and who they appeal to. Explain ways your church can fill in gaps with its ministries to various age groups and community activities.

Create a marketing plan that explains how you will let prospective attendees know about your church and its unique offerings, such as by advertising your worship services, Bible studies and children’s activities in the local paper. Include a plan for building an interactive Web site, getting free publicity through local publications and radio stations, and encouraging members to invite others to join your church.

Describe the management team that will implement the plan, and include their past experience helping a church grow. If they lack experience at other churches, discuss their success in helping the church reach its past goals or any other business successes they have achieved. Include background information about the people who will impact the plan’s success, such as the pastor and youth fellowship leaders.

Outline the steps for daily operation of the church, including listing the duties of the administrator, minister of the church, staff, and volunteers who lead studies or group activities. Describe the facility the church uses to hold services and classes, and mention the costs involved in moving to a larger building once membership increases. List the equipment the church will need over the next few years. This section should also mention the insurance coverage the church carries.

Provide financial information as the final section of the plan, including operating budgets. Include information on how your church qualifies as a non-profit organization to stay exempt from paying taxes. Add the last three years of financial statements as well as three years of forecasted projections, including profit and loss statements. The profit and loss statements need to include all potential contributions made to the church as well as expenses, such as pastor’s salary, utilities, rental space, computers, auditory equipment, furniture and any loans.

Write a two to three page Executive Summary, and place it at the beginning of the plan. The summary expresses the most important parts of the plan, and is best created after you finish the rest of the document.

• SBA.gov: Create Your Business Plan
• Since most people will not read the entire business plan, use the summary to build excitement and get members involved.
• Avoid mistakes in grammar and spelling as these problems bring the reliability of your business plan into question.

Nancy Wagner is a marketing strategist and speaker who started writing in 1998. She writes business plans for startups and established companies and teaches marketing and promotional tactics at local workshops. Wagner's business and marketing articles have appeared in "Home Business Journal," "Nation’s Business," "Emerging Business" and "The Mortgage Press," among others. She holds a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University.

Related Articles

Writing a business plan for a halfway house, how to write a grant for a nonprofit organization, how to make a five-year budget plan for a nonprofit, how to write a business plan for an animal shelter, how to make a haunted house business plan, how to make a business plan for a pool hall, promotional ideas for camps, how to make a business plan for running a dog kennel, how often should a vision or mission statement be changed, most popular.

• 1 Writing a Business Plan for a Halfway House
• 2 How to Write a Grant for a Nonprofit Organization
• 3 How to Make a Five-Year Budget Plan for a Nonprofit
• 4 How to Write a Business Plan for an Animal Shelter

Business Plan Template for Churches

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
• Get started in seconds

Running a church is not just about faith, it's also about effective planning and management. That's where ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Churches comes in handy!

With this template, churches and religious organizations can:

• Strategically plan and manage their operations, ensuring smooth and efficient functioning.
• Set clear goals and objectives to guide their mission and serve their community.
• Allocate resources wisely, ensuring financial stability and growth.
• Develop strategies to enhance outreach, engagement, and impact.

Whether you're a small community church or a large religious organization, ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Churches will help you navigate the complexities of running a church and fulfill your mission with purpose and clarity. Get started today and watch your church thrive!

Business Plan Template for Churches Benefits

A business plan template for churches provides numerous benefits to help these organizations effectively fulfill their mission and serve their community. Some of the benefits include:

• Strategic planning: A business plan template allows churches to develop a clear strategy and direction for their operations, ensuring they align with their mission and vision.
• Resource allocation: With a business plan template, churches can allocate their resources effectively, making sure they are utilized in the most efficient and impactful way.
• Goal setting: Churches can use the template to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals, helping them stay focused and track their progress.
• Financial planning: The template helps churches create a comprehensive financial plan, including budgeting, fundraising strategies, and revenue projections, ensuring financial stability and sustainability.
• Community engagement: By using a business plan template, churches can identify and prioritize community needs, develop programs and initiatives to meet those needs, and enhance their impact and outreach.

Main Elements of Churches Business Plan Template

ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Churches provides a comprehensive solution for effectively planning and managing church operations. Here are the main elements of this template:

• Custom Statuses: Track the progress of different tasks and activities with customizable statuses such as Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize 3 custom fields including Reference, Approved, and Section to add specific details and categorize information within the template.
• Custom Views: Access 5 different views including Topics, Status, Timeline, Business Plan, and Getting Started Guide to visualize and organize your church's business plan effectively.
• Collaboration Tools: Enhance collaboration within your church community by utilizing features like comments, task assignments, and notifications.
• Goal Management: Set and track goals for your church's mission and objectives using ClickUp's Goals feature.
• Document Management: Create and store important documents, policies, and guidelines using ClickUp's Docs feature.
• Reporting and Analytics: Analyze your church's performance and progress with ClickUp's reporting and analytics capabilities.
• Integration: Seamlessly integrate ClickUp with other tools and software your church uses for enhanced productivity and efficiency.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Churches

If you're looking to create a business plan for your church, using the Business Plan Template in ClickUp can help you get started. Follow these four steps to create a comprehensive plan for your church's growth and success:

1. Define your mission and vision

Start by clearly defining your church's mission and vision. What is the purpose of your church? What do you hope to achieve? This will serve as the foundation for your business plan and guide your decision-making process.

Use the Docs feature in ClickUp to create a document where you can outline your church's mission and vision.

2. Assess your current situation

Take an honest look at your church's current situation. Evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Identify any challenges or areas where improvement is needed. This analysis will help inform your strategies and goals moving forward.

Create tasks in ClickUp to categorize and analyze different aspects of your church's current situation, such as finances, membership, programs, and community engagement.

3. Set strategic goals

Based on your mission, vision, and assessment, set strategic goals for your church. What do you want to achieve in the next one, three, or five years? These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals) to ensure clarity and effectiveness.

Use the Goals feature in ClickUp to set and track your strategic goals. Assign deadlines, define key metrics, and break down your goals into actionable tasks.

4. Develop action plans

Once you have set your goals, it's time to develop action plans to achieve them. Break down each goal into smaller, actionable steps and assign responsibilities to team members. Determine the resources, timeline, and milestones needed to reach your goals.

Use the Gantt chart feature in ClickUp to create visual timelines for your action plans. This will help you visualize dependencies, track progress, and ensure that tasks are completed on time.

By following these four steps and utilizing ClickUp's Business Plan Template, you can create a comprehensive and effective business plan for your church. This plan will serve as a roadmap to guide your church's growth, engagement, and impact in the community.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Churches

Churches and religious organizations can use the Business Plan Template for Churches in ClickUp to effectively plan and manage their operations, set goals and objectives, and develop strategies to fulfill their mission and serve their community.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive business plan:

• Use the Topics View to organize your business plan into different sections and topics
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section and topic, with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do
• The Timeline View will give you a visual representation of your business plan's timeline and milestones
• The Business Plan View will provide a holistic view of your entire plan, allowing you to easily navigate and make updates
• The Getting Started Guide View will provide step-by-step instructions and guidance on how to use the template effectively
• Utilize the custom fields Reference, Approved, and Section to add additional information and categorize your business plan
• Update statuses and custom fields as you progress through each section and topic to keep team members informed of progress
• Monitor and analyze your business plan to ensure alignment with your church's goals and objectives.
• Business Plan Template for Social Media
• Business Plan Template for Uniqlo
• Business Plan Template for Sports Enthusiasts
• Business Plan Template for Skilled Nursing Facility
• Business Plan Template for Yoga Instructors

Template details

Free forever with 100mb storage.

Free training & 24-hours support

Serious about security & privacy

Highest levels of uptime the last 12 months

• Product Roadmap
• Affiliate & Referrals
• On-Demand Demo
• Integrations
• Consultants
• Gantt Chart
• Native Time Tracking
• Automations
• Kanban Board
• vs Airtable
• vs Basecamp
• vs MS Project
• vs Smartsheet
• Software Team Hub
• PM Software Guide

• Project Managment

How to Use a Free Church Business Plan Template to Create a Comprehensive Plan for Your Church

Introduction.

A free church business plan template is a great way to get started on the path to creating a successful church business. This template provides a comprehensive outline of the key elements that should be included in a church business plan. It includes sections on mission and vision, goals and objectives, financials, marketing, and operations. It also includes a sample budget and a timeline for implementation. This template is designed to help churches create a comprehensive business plan that will help them achieve their goals and objectives. With this template, churches can easily create a plan that will help them reach their goals and objectives in a timely and efficient manner.

Creating a comprehensive business plan for your church is an important step in ensuring the success of your organization. A business plan will help you to identify your goals, develop strategies to reach them, and provide a roadmap for the future. A free church business plan template can be a great starting point for creating your own plan.

To begin, you will need to gather the necessary information about your church. This includes information about your mission, vision, and values, as well as your current financial situation. You should also include information about your congregation, such as the size, demographics, and any special needs or challenges.

Once you have gathered the necessary information, you can begin to fill out the template. Start by providing an overview of your church, including its mission, vision, and values. Then, outline your goals and objectives for the future. Be sure to include both short-term and long-term goals.

Next , you will need to create a budget. This should include both income and expenses. Be sure to include any anticipated donations or grants, as well as any other sources of income.

Once you have created a budget, you can begin to develop strategies to reach your goals. This may include marketing and outreach efforts, as well as any other initiatives that will help you to achieve your objectives.

Finally , you should create a timeline for implementing your strategies. This will help you to stay on track and ensure that you are making progress towards your goals.

By using a free church business plan template, you can create a comprehensive plan for your church. This plan will help you to identify your goals, develop strategies to reach them, and provide a roadmap for the future. With a well-crafted plan in place, you can ensure the success of your church for years to come.

What to Include in Your Church Business Plan Template to Ensure Success

1. Executive Summary: Provide a brief overview of the church’s mission, vision, and goals.

2. Market Analysis: Analyze the current market conditions and identify potential opportunities and threats.

3. Organizational Structure: Describe the church’s organizational structure, including its leadership, staff, and volunteers.

4. Financial Plan: Outline the church’s financial goals and objectives, including budgeting, fundraising, and investments.

5. Strategic Plan: Develop a plan for achieving the church’s goals and objectives.

6. Risk Management Plan: Identify potential risks and develop strategies for mitigating them.

7. Implementation Plan: Outline the steps necessary to implement the church’s business plan.

8. Evaluation Plan: Develop a plan for evaluating the success of the church’s business plan.

9. Conclusion: Summarize the key points of the church’s business plan.

How to Develop a Financial Plan for Your Church Using a Free Church Business Plan Template

Creating a financial plan for your church is an important step in ensuring the long-term success of your organization. A financial plan will help you to identify potential sources of income, set financial goals, and create a budget. A free church business plan template can be a great starting point for developing your financial plan.

To begin, you will need to gather the necessary information about your church’s finances. This includes your current income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. You should also consider any potential sources of income, such as donations, grants, or investments. Once you have gathered this information, you can begin to fill out the free church business plan template.

The template will ask you to provide information about your church’s mission and vision, as well as its current financial situation. You will also need to provide information about your church’s goals and objectives. This will help you to create a plan that is tailored to your church’s specific needs.

Once you have filled out the template, you can begin to develop your financial plan. This plan should include a budget, which will help you to track your income and expenses. You should also consider creating a cash flow statement, which will help you to identify potential sources of income and expenses.

Finally , you should create a financial statement that will provide an overview of your church’s financial situation. This statement should include information about your church’s assets, liabilities, and net worth. This statement will help you to identify potential areas of improvement and will provide a snapshot of your church’s financial health.

By using a free church business plan template, you can create a comprehensive financial plan for your church. This plan will help you to identify potential sources of income, set financial goals, and create a budget. With a well-developed financial plan, you can ensure the long-term success of your church.

How to Use a Free Church Business Plan Template to Create a Strategic Plan for Your Church

Creating a strategic plan for your church is an important step in ensuring its long-term success. A strategic plan outlines the goals and objectives of the church and provides a roadmap for achieving them. A free church business plan template can be a great starting point for developing a comprehensive strategic plan for your church.

To use a free church business plan template to create a strategic plan for your church, begin by gathering information about the church’s current situation. This includes the church’s mission, vision, values, and goals. It is also important to consider the church’s current resources, such as its budget, staff, and volunteers.

Once you have gathered the necessary information, use the free church business plan template to create a strategic plan. Begin by outlining the church’s mission, vision, and values. Then, create a list of goals and objectives that will help the church achieve its mission. Be sure to include both short-term and long-term goals.

Next , create a timeline for achieving the goals and objectives. This timeline should include milestones and deadlines for each goal. It is also important to consider the resources needed to achieve each goal.

Finally , create an action plan for achieving the goals and objectives. This plan should include specific tasks and activities that need to be completed in order to reach the goals. It is also important to consider the resources needed to complete each task.

By using a free church business plan template, you can create a comprehensive strategic plan for your church. This plan will help ensure the church’s long-term success and provide a roadmap for achieving its goals.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Free Church Business Plan Template?

Using a free church business plan template can provide a number of benefits to churches. Firstly, it can help to provide structure and guidance when creating a business plan. A template can provide a framework for the church to follow, ensuring that all the necessary information is included. This can help to ensure that the plan is comprehensive and well-thought-out.

Secondly, a template can help to save time. By providing a structure and format, the church can focus on the content of the plan rather than worrying about the layout and formatting. This can help to speed up the process of creating a business plan, allowing the church to move forward with their plans more quickly.

Thirdly, a template can help to ensure consistency. By using the same format for all business plans, the church can ensure that all plans are presented in a professional and consistent manner. This can help to create a more professional image for the church and can help to ensure that all plans are taken seriously.

Finally , a template can help to ensure accuracy. By providing a structure and format, the church can ensure that all the necessary information is included in the plan. This can help to ensure that the plan is accurate and up-to-date, helping to ensure that the church is making the best decisions for its future.

How to Use a Free Church Business Plan Template to Create a Mission Statement for Your Church

Creating a mission statement for your church is an important step in establishing a clear purpose and direction for your organization. A mission statement should be concise and reflect the core values of your church.

Using a free church business plan template can help you create a mission statement that is both meaningful and effective. Here are some steps to follow when creating a mission statement for your church:

1. Identify the core values of your church . Start by reflecting on the values that are most important to your church. Consider the beliefs and principles that guide your church’s activities and decisions.

2. Brainstorm ideas . Once you have identified the core values of your church, brainstorm ideas for how to express them in a mission statement. Think of words and phrases that capture the essence of your church’s purpose.

3. Draft a mission statement . Using the ideas you have brainstormed, draft a mission statement that reflects the core values of your church. Make sure it is concise and clear.

4. Review and revise . Once you have drafted a mission statement, review it and make any necessary revisions. Make sure it accurately reflects the values and purpose of your church.

By following these steps and using a free church business plan template, you can create a mission statement for your church that is meaningful and effective.

• Church Sample Business Plan
• Ultimate Guide To Church Business Plans: How To & A Free Template
• 4+ Church Business Plan Templates in PDF

• Previous How to Create a Comprehensive Foreclosure Cleaning Business Plan
• Next How to Create a Winning Free Ice Cream Truck Business Plan

How To Start A Project Management Consulting Business

A Project Manager Creates A Project Charter & Project Proposal

How to Create a Comprehensive Fertility Clinic Business Plan

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Sample Page

More Like this

Church planning part 2: elements of your strategic plan.

Click here to read Part 1.

Do  you know where your church is going? What will your church be like in three years? Will you be a few steps closer to realizing your vision? If you do not change anything, will the future be any different than the past? One sure-fire way to impact your church’s future is to dust off an old tool—the Strategic Plan .

No one strategic model fits all organizations, but the planning process includes certain basic elements that all churches can use to explore their vision, goals, and next steps of an effective strategic plan.

Why do a strategic plan?

Strategic planning is a process that helps focus on aligning the unique gifts and resources that God has given your organization to take advantage of your opportunities. Scripture says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:15–16). As you do the planning, let God do the directing.

For the Christian, this is not simply projection-based planning but the realization that through prayer and obedience you can be a catalyst to help bring about a future that is in alignment with God’s will. Through prayer, the framework for a plan can be established. We do the planning, but God does the directing.

What is strategic planning?

Simply put, a strategic plan is the formalized road map that describes how your organization executes the chosen strategy. A plan spells out where an organization is going over the next year or more and how it is going to get there. A strategic plan is a management tool that serves the purpose of helping an organization do a better job, and it improves organizations because a plan focuses the energy, resources, and time of everyone in the organization in the same direction.

Strategic planning does not have to be mysterious, complicated, or time-consuming. In fact, it should be quick, simple, and easily executed. Additionally, strategic planning is not just something you cross off your list of “to-dos”—you must create a culture of strategic thinking, so your strategic planning does not become an annual retreat but, instead, a part of daily decision making.

A good strategic plan achieves the following:

• Reflects the values of the organization.
• Clearly defines what is most important for achieving success.
• Assists everyone in daily decision making.
• Gets everyone on the same page focused and pulling in the same direction.
• Creates a culture of strategic thinking.

What are the elements of a strategic plan?

There are several different components or pieces in a strategic plan. The typical questions people have relating to the elements are the following:

• What is the difference between mission and vision ?
• Which comes first– objectives or goals ?
• How do they work together?

Get the Free Guide for Setting OKRs that Work (with 100 examples!)

This is probably the most widely debated part of strategic planning. Every person you ask will provide a different answer. Ignore the semantics and focus on establishing a framework. What matters is having a combination of long-term and short-term markers to keep your church moving in the right direction.

Think of the following elements of a typical strategic plan in the hierarchy as outlined in Figure 1 :

• Mission –To define the organization’s purpose. Why do we exist?
• Values –To clarify what you stand for and believe in.
• SWOT –To assess the particular strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are strategically important to your church. (SWOT is a filtering tool to assess where you are now.)
• Advantage –To define what you do best. What do you do best?
• Vision –To explain where you are headed. Where do we want to be in five years?
• Organization-wide strategy –How will you get to your vision? What is the route you will take?
• Objectives –To connect your mission to your vision. What are the long-term, 3-year out strategic priorities you need to perform in order to achieve your vision?
• Goals –To set goals that convert the strategic objectives into specific performance targets. What are the one-year goals you are trying to achieve to support your objectives?
• Action –To set specific action plans that lead to implementing your goals. What are the 30-, 60-, and 90-day actions?
• Scorecard –To measure and manage your strategic plan. What are the key performance measures you can track in order to monitor if you are achieving your goals?

How do the elements fit together?

Because it is easy to confuse how all the elements of a plan come together and where they go, the visual Strategy Map in Figure 2 is a simple, yet clear way of looking at the whole plan. By placing all the elements of the plan into three areas, you can clearly see how the pieces fit together. Each area has certain components of the plan. The three areas are:

Where are we now?

Where are we going, how will we get there.

As you think about where your organization is now, you want to look at your foundational elements (mission and values) to make sure there has not been a change since they were originally created. More than likely, you will not revise these two areas very often. Then you want to look at your current strategic position, which is where you look at what is happening internally and externally to determine how you need to shift and change. Here are your foundational elements:

Mission defines your purpose—the purpose for which you were founded and why you exist. A mission statement states what the church organization intends to accomplish and the needs it is endeavoring to serve. It also serves as a guide for day-to-day operations and as the foundation for future decision-making.

To create a mission statement you need to understand how God has uniquely gifted your church with core strengths, abilities, and gifts. You need to embrace your church’s uniqueness and develop plans around it. With this in mind, your mission statement will be one that expresses God’s call on your church—focusing on who you are and what you do.

To write a mission statement ask the following questions:

• Why do we exist?
• What is God’s purpose for our church?
• How can we, with limited resources, really make a difference?
• To gather to worship and become empowered to serve.
• To be an oasis of faith at a busy crossroad.
• To help our community experience Jesus in a real and relevant way.
• To build an overcoming church out of broken lives through the power of Jesus.
• To exalt the Lord, equip the believer, evangelize the world, and expand the Kingdom.
• To present authentic Christianity to our families, community, country and world.

Values are enduring, passionate, and distinctive core beliefs. They are guiding principles that never change. Values are why we do what we do and what we stand for. They are beliefs that guide the conduct, activities, and goals of the organization. Values are deeply held convictions, priorities, and underlying assumptions that influence our attitudes and behaviors. They have intrinsic value and importance to those inside the organization. Your core values are part of your strategic foundation.

A church’s values can dominate the kind of strategic direction it considers or rejects. When values and beliefs are deeply ingrained and widely shared by pastors, board and staff, they become a way of life within the church and they mold church strategy.

To write values ask the following questions:

• What are the core values and beliefs of our organization?
• What values and beliefs guide our daily interactions?
• What is our church really committed to?
• Family –We believe there is nothing more important than strong united families.
• Excellence –We believe excellence honors God and inspires greatness.
• Equipping –We believe in equipping the saints for ministry and life by helping them to operate in their spiritual gifts.
• Prayer –We believe in the power of prayer, and that makes a critical difference in all we attempt to achieve. We are to be a house of prayer for all nations.
• Authenticity –Through authentic living, biblical authority, worship, prayer, and spirit.
• Committed Community –Through intimacy within the community, servant leadership, genuine relationships, and beauty in diversity.

SWOT (Strategic Position)

The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a tool to help match internal organizational strengths with external opportunities to meet the needs of your constituents and community best. Think of the SWOT as a filtering tool to assess your current strategic position. A good understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, your opportunities, and the external threats is essential to the assessment.

The SWOT is only as good as the information it contains. Gathering information from your constituents and stakeholders about the effectiveness of your programs, services, and church is essential for the SWOT to identify key issues. The purpose of a SWOT is to help produce a good fit between your church’s internal resources and capabilities and your external environment.

When you plan you will need to set goals to build on your church’s strengths, shore up the weaknesses, capitalize on the opportunities, and recognize the threats.

Assess your strengths and weaknesses by answering these questions: what do we do well, and where could we improve?

Assess your opportunities and threats by asking what opportunities should we take advantage of and are there any emerging trends that might affect our organization?

Unique Advantage

Just what is a unique advantage? It is simply the answer to “what does your church do best?” Your unique advantage is what your church does or potentially could do better than similar organizations. The result of a well-developed and executed strategic plan is to develop a unique advantage. It is what you do best that draws constituents/stakeholders to use your programs and services instead of similar organizations. Successful churches deliberately make choices to be unique and different in activities that they are really, really good at doing and they focus all of their energy in these areas.

Your unique advantages are the foundation, the cornerstone of your strategic plan. Throughout the planning process you will need to evaluate every part of your plan to determine whether it supports or detracts from this.

To identify your unique advantages ask the following questions:

• What does your church do best?
• What can your organization potentially do better than any other organization?
• What unique skills, resources, gifts and capabilities has God placed in your church?
• We are young-minded, progressive and culturally relevant messengers of the Gospel of Christ.
• We have a prime location.
• We have Bible-based preaching.
• We are a church of small home groups.
• We have an extensive care ministry.
• We have a strong youth ministry.

The elements of the question, “Where are we going?” help you answer other questions, such as, what will my church look like in the future? Where are we headed? What is the future I want to create for my church? The following elements help you define the future for your church:

A vision is a picture of what your church’s future makeup will be and where the organization is headed. Vision provides a clear mental picture, by faith, of what your church will look like in five to ten years from now. Forming a strategic vision should provide long-term direction, delineate the organizational activities to be pursued, the capabilities it plans to develop, and infuse the church with a sense of purposeful action. It serves as a unifying focal point for everyone in the organization like a North Star. It delineates the future focus and where the church is going.

A Godly vision is based on God’s will for the church. It is a picture of seeking the needs of other people and meeting those needs. It is vitally connected to the heart of God and His perspective. A vision that is inspired by God is God-sized and will require the power of God to fulfill. A Godly vision makes your heart surge, carries you to heights you never dreamed possible, and causes exponential growth. You are empowered and motivated by it. It seizes hold of you and orders your thoughts and actions. Scripture says, “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run.” (Habakkuk 2:2)

To write a vision, pray and seek God’s wisdom by asking the following questions:

• What will our church look like 10 years from now?
• Where is God directing our church?
• What is God’s vision for our church?
• To be an interdenominational, cell-based, multi-congregational church of believers in our community who practice authentic Christian community.
• To be a place where people searching to know God are welcomed and taught Biblical principles and relevant Christian community.
• To develop a loving and caring Christian community effecting a global impact for Christ through its local, regional, and international outreach.
• To be the premier seeker-driven, community church in the state.
• To become a premier multi-cultural, soul-winning, disciple-making church in the area, renowned worldwide for our commitment to missions and our passion for excellence, service, and team work.

Knowing how you will reach your vision is the meat of your strategic plan, but it is also the most time consuming. The reason it takes so much time to develop is because there are a number of routes from your current position to your vision. Picking the right one determines how quickly or slowly you get to your final destination. The parts of your plan that lay out your roadmap are as follows:

Strategic Objectives/Priorities

Strategic objectives are long-term, continuous strategic areas that get you moving from your mission to achieving your vision. Objectives explain how you will get there. In other words, objectives are long-term (3–5 years) general areas that state how your organization will get from its mission (where you are now) to its vision (where you are going).

Objectives are also called strategic priorities, initiatives, and cornerstones. It is helpful to think of objectives as broad general area. Objectives state the broad direction; goals then operationalize that direction. They are the continuous strategic activities necessary to achieve your vision. They define what your organization is intending to accomplish both programmatically and organizationally. Objectives work towards converting your mission into actions that will accomplish your vision and help sustain your unique advantage.

To write objectives ask these questions:

• What are the key activities that you need to perform in order to achieve your vision?
• What areas do we need to focus on over the next 3-5 years to accomplish our vision?
• To impact strategically more lives each year.
• To manage our church on a fiscally sound operating basis.
• Expand programs/services to existing congregation.
• To serve more people in the community through new programs and services.
• To improve internal process continually to realize efficiencies.
• To improve internal communications.
• To develop the leadership abilities and potential of our staff.

Strategy establishes a way to match your church’s strengths with opportunities so that your church comes to mind when people have a need. A strategy is like an umbrella. It is a general statement(s) that guides and covers a set of activities. You can develop one strategy for your church or guiding statement for each year. Strategy answers the question “how.” It explains how you will travel to your final destination.

Consider listing the top one to two strategies or long-term activities your church needs to pursue in order to achieve its vision by asking how will we achieve our vision and how can we best match our strengths in a way that provides value and is perceived by our constituents?

• Overall–Number of lives changed
• 1st year–Birth of the church
• 2nd year–Leadership development
• 3rd year–Growth
• 4th year–Discipleship
• 5th year–Community outreach
• 6th year–International outreach

Goals convert your strategic objectives into specific performance targets. Effective SMART goals clearly state what you want to accomplish, when you want to accomplish it, how you are going to do it, and who is going to be responsible. Each goal should be specific and measurable. With short-term goals, the organization converts the mission, vision, and long-term objectives into performance targets. Realistic goals ought to serve as a tool for stretching an organization to reach its full potential.

It is important for the church to view goals as motivational targets, and exciting, measurable milestones for the future. Think about achieving them in a 12– to 18-month time frame. Write goals to build your unique advantage. Additionally, use your SWOT analysis to write goals. Match your strengths with opportunities, shore up your weaknesses and guard against threats.

Goals can be difficult to set because they should be faith-stretching without being presumptuous.

Goals ought to serve as a tool for stretching a church to reach its full potential. This means setting them high enough to be challenging to energize the organization and its strategy. Prayerfully seek God’s guidance in setting faith goals. Let God give you things He wants you to do. Hold your plans before the Lord.

The following is an explanation of the criteria for SMART goals :

• S pecific–Goals must answer the questions: How much? What kind of performance is to be accomplished?
• M easurable–Goals must be stated in measurable or quantifiable terms: Can we measure this goal? How will we know if we achieved this goal?
• A ggressive yet Achievable–Is the goal aggressive yet achievable? Goals must provide a stretch that inspires people to aim higher. Set goals you know you can realistically achieve.
• R elevant/Realistic–Is the goal relevant to achieving the objective? Goals must maintain consistency and focus.
• T ime Specific–Is the goal time specific? Goals must answer the question, “by when is it to be accomplished?”

Write goals by asking these questions:

• What are the 1- to 3-year goals we are trying to achieve to support our strategic objective?
• What are your specific, measurable, and realistic targets of accomplishment?

Action Items

Action items are plans that set specific actions that lead to implementing your goals. Action items are basically a “To-Do List” for each goal. It involves listing out the concrete steps that you need to accomplish in order to achieve your goals. An action plan explains who is going to do what, by when, and in what order for the church to reach its goals. The design and implementation of the action planning depend on the nature and needs of the organization.

Getting buy-in from your stakeholders is to ensure implementation of action items, it is important to assign responsibilities and deadlines. A great method is to assign each goal to a board member, staff, or volunteer. Ask him/her to write the action plan and be responsible for making sure each task is accomplished. Another method is to identify all the actions that need to occur in the next 90 days. You can continue this same process at every ninety-day increment until the goal is achieved.

To write action items ask, “What are we going to do in the next 90, 60, and 30 days to work towards this goal?”

To help monitor your strategic plan, one of the best tools around is the Balanced Scorecard developed by Kaplan and Norton from Harvard. The scorecard is to be used as both a measurement and management tool to assist in fulfilling an organization’s vision. With it, you can actively track progress towards your goals.

For each goal put a measurement and target on a scorecard (in Excel). With the scorecard, you can actively track your progress on a monthly basis. To begin using the scorecard, select the “Top Five” key goals that you want to measure that will have the most impact in moving your church forward.

To develop a scorecard ask, “what are the key performance measures you can track in order to monitor if you are achieving your goals?”

Implementation is the most difficult part of the planning process: it is actually achieving the goals set out in the plan while remaining alert and flexible to new opportunities as they unfold. The overall aim is integrating the strategic planning with daily, weekly, and monthly routines. It is good to remember that a plan that is well-implemented brings Godly success to the church.

An administrator devoted to the successful implementation of the plan is key. The plan needs to be supported with people, money, time, systems, and, above all, communication. Communicate the plan to everyone in your organization. Hold a monthly or quarterly strategy meeting to report on the progress toward achieving the goals. Take corrective actions as needed. Above all, remember that implementing the plan requires continued daily prayer for direction accompanied by obedient action in response to what God reveals.

A strategic plan is a living, dynamic document. It drives your church and must be integrated into every fiber of your organization, so all staff is helping to move the church in the same direction. All the best missions and strategies in the world are a waste of time if they are not implemented. To be truly successful, the plan cannot gather dust on the bookshelf. You know what “shelf” we are talking about.

Strategic planning is about keeping the plan active so that it does not gather that proverbial dust. Know what your end result looks like and where your milestones should be. Plan your near-term actions and evaluate your progress each quarter. Are you where you thought you would be if you had been on target? Or, if you are off target, how far are you off? The course correction to put you back on track becomes your next action plan. When your church has a clear plan and acts according to the plan, you are going to go from where you are to where you want to go, therefore, ensuring your success!

Click here to download the full PDF version

21 Comments

This is a well researched and atticulated document, i like it. congrants and God bless

This is quite some good stuff relevant for running a God honoring church. I am hoping to translate this into a actionable pathway for implementing change in our church.

It helps us a lot in preparing our church strategic plan. Well researched. God bless you.

I have read every word of this educative document and i must confess it sounds like manna from Heaven. It has really really been of massive help to me. You are blessed, stay relevant.

Your article is very useful in our church, I hope to meet with church leaders and elders to discuss how we can put all skills into Action. African church has problem with Planning, many Ministries are working under performance because we dont have future plans. Stay blessed forever.

Fantastic strategic planning. i must say its a must read article for all who wish to see growth in their church

This is a wonderful material dear, well designed and helpful to any focused church. “what a blessing to our church. I must say, it a Christmas Gift. we are definitely going to use these material for our future planning. God bless you so much-cheers

Thank you for you posting. Your article has helped me greatly. I am currently doing my MDIV and part of my assignment is to come up with a strategic plan for my church. Once thank you greatly. In Christ.

I am a doctor of theology and currently busy with PhD of philosophic of religious studies. I am starting a church in a new territory now. I must admit that this research is a great and blessed job given to the church as a gracious gift. I am very blessed with you people of God you are doing an amazing work for the church of Christ. I will completely implement it in my church with just few changes.

Bless you more

This is a very useful document very clear and easy to follow. I have been facilitating strategic planning processes for various churches and organizations, and every detail of the step is in here. I like the simple examples given. Keep it up and God bless you richly

Good piece of work, quite instructional!

Satisfactory work and very helpful for Progressive and committed church workers.well done and God bless.

Satisfactory and a wellresearched work, very useful for visionary church workers. God bless.

God bless for this helpful resource.I am preparing for church administration seminar

really a good job it will help me with my congregation. Thank you so much. Peace

Really a corner-stone of for leaders!

A very good information. This has help me to organize the women and youth in our congregations.

This is valuable guidance in drafting a strategic plan. It provides detailed steps for one to kick start the process

This is a very great, important and insightful information for those who seeks to do church ministry is a very well planned and organized way in order to create a realistic and tangible Christian presence and impact for the glory of God in the communities where God has called them to serve His eternal kingdom Gospel cause in the pattern of Jesus Christ. Based of the complexity and diversity of multi-cultural setting of the environment where the Lord has called and placed me to serve, I will definitely adopt and contextualized some of the principles presented in this document for our ministry use as well. Thank your for building the body of Christ through this well researched, articulated and presented information. God Bless you so much.

Comments Cancel

Join 60,000 other leaders engaged in transforming their organizations., subscribe to get the latest agile strategy best practices, free guides, case studies, and videos in your inbox every week..

Leading strategy? Join our FREE community.

Become a member of the chief strategy officer collaborative..

Free monthly sessions and exclusive content.

Do you want to 2x your impact.

Church Planting: Deciding to Plant a Church

View resource training

Open Network is a free library of church resources from Life.Church. There are more than 35,000 free videos, sermon prep resources, kids lessons, graphics packages, music, ministry tips, and more that you can download and use in your ministry. And best of all, it's totally free for churches! Learn more at http://open.life.Church

• Sales 888.270.0679
• Support 888.237.7850
• Faith Organizations Tools to grow giving and engagement.
• Schools & Community Education Simplify online payments and save staff time.
• Child Care Comprehensive center and classroom management software.
• Nonprofits Give your donors more ways to show their support.
• Online Giving
• Mobile Church App
• Text-to-Give
• Online Worship
• Mobile Card Reader
• Church Management Software
• Partners and Integrations
• Resource Center
• Payment Processing
• School Lunch Payments
• School Lunch POS
• Event Ticketing
• Registrations
• Class Management
• Online Registration
• Adult Education
• Community Arts
• PowerSchool
• All Integrations
• Vanco Events
• Center Management
• Classroom Management
• Check-in & Check-out
• Before & After Care
• Child Care Manager
• Mobile Apps
• Hardware & Kiosks
• Preschool Management
• Multi-Location Child Care
• Online Enrollment
• Billing & Payment Processing
• Child Care Reporting
• Child Care Automation
• Child Care Technology

Success for nonprofits hinges on the ability for supporters to give how and when they want to. Vanco's tools open your organization to more donor opportunities and makes donating easy for supporters.

Vanco's Nonprofit Solutions

• Who We Serve
• Faith Organizations

Church Strategic Plan - A Definitive Guide

Developing a church strategic plan can take place at any point in a ministry. A pastor starting a church has the same challenges as someone taking over an existing church or restructuring their current ministry. 

With   about 380,000 churches   in the U.S., leaders recognize members have options. Strategic planning for churches has the potential to reignite an organization. It also can become a stressful situation if not done right.

Learn more about how to develop your church's strategic blueprint. Read our guide on creating a church plan.

Table of Contents

When Should Leadership Create a Church Strategic Plan?

1. pull together a planning team, 2. assess your current situation, 3. determine your desired outcome.

• 4. Write out a Business Plan

5. Create a Vision Statement

• 6. Define the Current Role of the Church
• 7. Outline a Budget 

8. Define and Expand Stewardship Efforts

• 9. Set Criteria for Leadership Roles 

10. Layout Policies and Procedures

Bonus tips: branding and marketing.

• Get a Free Guide to Unlock Rapid Growth 

There's no time like the present to create a church strategic plan . The timing will dictate the urgency and implementation. As the pastor or leader of a religious organization, you first need to have a clear understanding of how you want the ministry to function.

If the leader isn't clear on their intentions, it's a recipe for disaster, and friction can quickly set in. 

A new pastor starting a church should create a strategic ministry plan before opening the church doors. Start-up is the most crucial time for the leader. Every business owner will tell you that failing to plan is a plan for failure.

There are many things to consider when starting a church. You'll need to answer the following questions.

• Who is your intended audience?
• What denomination will you serve under?
• When do you plan to open?
• Where do you plan to locate the church?
• Why will people want to join?

Without the answers to the five Ws, you will have a misguided strategic plan and are sure to experience   pastoral care challenges .

Incoming Pastor

It’s common for a pastor to inherit a church. This means there’s an existing church, and a pastor has resigned, retired, passed away or been removed from the leadership role.

An incoming pastor will have many challenges. It doesn’t matter if they served in a leadership capacity in the church. Senior pastors are often beloved by the congregation. When their seat becomes vacant, it’s difficult for someone to come in with a new vision. Members will want the church to operate the same.

Many new churches have formed due to a split in leadership following a disagreement in church management. Regardless of how you earned the title of head pastor, a strategic leadership plan is needed.

Current Pastor

As an existing pastor, you must have a pulse for your church at all times. This includes your administrative staff, leadership and membership. Pastors wear many titles, and it's easy to become overwhelmed.

Having a strong support system is essential. When it's time to reassess how the church is doing, hard decisions come into play. 

Ongoing strategic planning for churches and ministries is a must. It doesn't mean each year you overall the church operations. Instead, you understand what is working and what isn't. What is trending in ministry, and what members are no longer responding to?

This article will address a church strategy plan for existing churches. However, the information is also valuable for a new ministry as the same rules will apply now and in the future.

Craft a Perfect Church Strategic Plan in 10 Key Steps

Eager to unlock your church's full potential and steer it toward a path of success with unshakeable confidence? If so, let us guide you through crafting an impeccable strategic plan for your church in 10 simple steps.

After reading these steps, you'll be able to convert challenges into opportunities. You'll be able to illuminate your path forward and set your church on the course to success. 

Are you prepared to redefine your church's future? Let's dive in!

The first step for creating a church strategic plan is to assemble a team. The team will include the following:

• someone from administration.
• individuals from your leadership team.
• ministry leaders.
• business people from within the congregation.
• business people from the community.
• someone with project management experience.
• other community partners.

Create a list of qualifications for team members. Ensure the people you chose have diverse backgrounds and reflect the demographics of your congregation. 

Establish rules of order to control the climate of meetings. Set a schedule for meetings and a timeframe to conclude the project. 

A person starting a church may find this process runs smoother than someone coming into an established ministry.

A church strategic plan requires transparency and an open mind. Having the courage to pull in the reigns and go in a different direction takes courage and shows you are a true leader.

Before meeting with your team, make a list of the things you see and what are the causes for concern. List what is working, what is stagnant, and what needs revamping.

Meet with the administrative staff to get their thoughts. Let them know your ideas for strategic planning for the church and ministries. If you have engaged and supportive staff members, their input will mean a lot in the implementation stages.  

Conduct a Church Survey

Conducting a church survey on your own or employing a third-party to administer it is a great way to get a pulse for how the church operates, bringing extra clarity to the issues and challenges facing your ministry. Your members will access the confidential survey from an online portal outside the church.

The administrator of the survey will ask questions based on the interview they conduct with you. There are sections for members, ministry volunteers and leaders and the administrative staff. Survey questions can also focus on the church demographics to help drill down on any generational, race or gender divides.

Once the church's strategic survey is completed, you'll receive a comprehensive report and tools to help guide your strategic plan. There are also recommendations on addressing the congregation with the results and next steps to grow a better ministry .

Conduct a SWOT Analysis

When it comes to assessing your church's situation, one of the most powerful tools at your disposal is a SWOT analysis.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This framework provides a clear, concise overview of your church's current position and its standing in the face of future challenges and prospects.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors within your church. These could include resources, skills or the experiences of your church members. Opportunities and threats, however, are external factors. These might encompass changes in your community, shifts in societal attitudes or even global events.

Does this sound complex? Fear not! Let's break it down:

Strengths: In what areas does your church excel? What unique resources can you leverage? How do others perceive your strengths?

Weaknesses: Where can your church improve? What should you avoid? How might people in your community perceive your weaknesses?

Opportunities: What opportunities can your church seize? Which trends could you capitalize on? How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?

Threats: What threats could jeopardize your church? What obstacles do you face? What actions are your competitors taking?

Steps for Your SWOT Analysis

Follow these steps to start your SWOT analysis:

Begin by gathering a diverse group from your church. Include church leaders, volunteers and members of your congregation. The goal is to gain a wide range of perspectives.

Brainstorm and list all potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Remember, no contribution is too small!

Identify the most significant points in each category. These will form the basis of your strategic decisions moving forward.

Analyze and strategize. How can you maximize your strengths and opportunities? How can you minimize your weaknesses and threats?

Voila! After following these four steps, you'll have a clearer understanding of your church's current position and how to strategize for the future.

Now that you have laid out the church’s current status, it’s time to start thinking about the desired outcomes. Examples of outcomes include:

• Growing church membership.
• Changing the culture of the church.
• Building a diverse and global audience.
• Increasing stewardship and giving.
• Creating satellite churches.
• Opening a social services arm of the church
• Being more involved in the community.
• Providing more opportunities for members to serve.
• Fulfilling personal goals to bring more attention to the ministry.

Being intentional about the direction you want to take the church doesn't mean the process will become easier. However, it does make the goals clear and helps pave the path to success.

Use SMART Goals

What if you could set your church on a course that not only meets but surpasses expectations? What if you had a roadmap that illuminated every step of your journey? Enter SMART goals . A tried and true method leveraged by successful organizations worldwide, and yes, that includes churches too.

What Are SMART Goals?

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These five criteria transform lofty, vague aspirations into clear, achievable objectives. Let's break it down:

• Specific : Your goal should be clear and well-defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don't provide sufficient direction.
• Measurable : Include precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success.
• Achievable : Make sure it's possible to achieve the goals you set. While you should stretch your abilities, you want to ensure the goal is within your reach.
• Relevant : Your goals must align with your church's mission and vision.
• Time-bound : You need a deadline. When you're working on a deadline, your sense of urgency increases and achievement will come much quicker.

Crafting SMART Goals for Churches

In the context of a church, SMART goals can be used in various areas from increasing membership, enhancing community outreach programs, to improving fundraising efforts. Here are a few examples:

• Specific : Increase our congregation size.
• Measurable : Grow our congregation by 20%.
• Achievable : Grow our congregation by 20% by hosting weekly community events and enhancing our social media outreach.
• Relevant : Growing our congregation aligns with our mission to spread our faith and build a supportive community.
• Time-bound : Achieve this growth within the next year.

Best Practices for Crafting SMART Goals

• Start by brainstorming what you want to achieve. Then, refine your list so each goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
• Ensure all stakeholders are involved in the process. This encourages buy-in, shared responsibility, and has the added benefit of including diverse perspectives.
• Finally, remember to review your goals periodically. This helps your church stay on course and allows you to make adjustments as needed.

4. Write Out a Business Plan

Churches need a   business plan . Often, church management turns away from a business structure because they don't want to confuse business with their mission. Unfortunately, this is the wrong way to look at planning and structure. 

The reality is, the senior pastor is the CEO, the associate pastors are VPs, and ministry leaders are your departmental managers. You might have a secretary, volunteers and other roles who make up your customer service team. 

Planning for all these roles as the church grows is easily managed when you have foreseen the church's future.

What Does the Business Plan Include?

• Mission statement - a short statement that addresses the focus and what the church stands for.
• Executive summary - a summary of what the church will offer and why it's beneficial to your intended audience.
• Market research - determine if there's a need for your church and how it will compare to the competition. Invest in studies to see how and what churches similar to yours are doing.
• Church marketing plan - what church marketing strategies and tools you'll need to attract people to the church.
• Management structure - what will it look like. Who is paid and who isn't.
• Day-to-day operations - what are the church's business hours? When are services? How do ministries meet?
• Finances - how will you fund the church? How will tithes and offerings get distributed, and how will capital improvement projects get funded? How to build banking relationships.

Keep in mind, the business plan is separate from a church strategic plan. The business plan should have been a part of the church's original start-up. It's a document you can look back on and revise at five-year increments. 

Popular in protestant churches are vision and   mission statements . This is different from the mission statement in the business plan.

The church's vision and mission is a call to action for the congregation. It's an open statement that becomes a part of the church brand. The statement appears on the church website, marketing materials and something members know by memory.

In some churches, members recite the statement every Sunday. It's a ritual similar to the Pledge of Allegiance. Reciting the statement each week reinforces the vision and goals of the church’s overall plan and vision for the future. 

6. Define the Current Role of the Church 

For your strategy plan, define the role of the church in current times. On the surface, people understand the church is there to further the mission of Jesus through discipleship. But what does that look like now?

It's no secret that the church is steadily evolving. Churches are loosening some of their stringent rules and becoming more flexible on traditional practices.

As conversations ramp up regarding secularism entering the church, you'll need a strategic plan to address these concerns. Things to look at are:

• Dress codes
• New ministries

Changes in church culture are huge. As older members are unable to serve or pass away, younger influences will take hold.

7. Outline a Budget

A ministry's strategic plan will have a section for a budget. The budget is a detailed outline of categories that need funding and resources for getting the money that’s needed.

Ministries have options for accounting software to help manage church finances and stay on track. It’s important to understand how money is coming in and going out. Equally important is to become intentional about spending.

There are   traditional and alternative revenue sources  churches use. Not all of them work for every congregation or have the same results.

Outline in your strategic plan which options you'll use along with financial projections. Alongside traditional tithes and offerings , the church relies on these fundraising sources.

• Annual pledges of support
• Fundraisers
• Memorial donations
• Special giving opportunities

Before starting a new church, the pastor and leadership need to have enough cash on hand to carry the church for at least two years. 

Imagine navigating a ship without a compass. Challenging, isn’t it? This is what running a church without a stewardship plan is like. A strong church stewardship plan acts as your guiding compass, providing clear direction and purpose for your church's resources. But why is it so critical?

Resource Management : A stewardship plan ensures the effective management of your church's resources. It helps you prioritize and allocate resources efficiently, ensuring they are used to their full potential. 

Financial Stability : With a well-crafted stewardship plan, your church can achieve financial stability. It sets forth strategies for fundraising, budgeting, and expenditure control, thereby preventing financial pitfalls. 

Vision Alignment : A stewardship plan aligns all financial decisions with the church's vision and mission. This alignment not only propels your church towards its goals but also fosters unity among members. 

Transparency : Lastly, a stewardship plan promotes transparency. It provides a clear roadmap of where resources are going, instilling trust and encouraging more generosity among members. 

The Impact of a Strong Stewardship Plan on Your Church's Strategic Plan

 The stewardship plan fuels your strategic plan, driving your church toward its objectives.

It sets the stage for achieving your strategic goals, whether it's growing your congregation, enhancing your outreach programs, or improving your ministry's impact. It provides the resources needed to turn your strategic vision into a reality.

In essence, a strong church stewardship plan is not just an option; it's a necessity for your church's strategic plan. It’s the key to unlocking your church's full potential and steering it toward a path of success.

I you're looking for help crafting a strong stewardship strategy, we built this free guide to help. 

Getting the Right Tools to Boost Church Stewardship

Imagine this: Your congregation is brimming with goodwill and generosity, but the traditional methods of tithing limit their expression. In the world of checks and cash, the spirit of giving becomes constrained by logistics. Sounds familiar? Well, it's time for a change.

Let's take a virtual tour of seven key technologies that will not only grow your tithes and offerings but also enhance your congregation's connection to your church's mission.

Online Giving Pages : What if your congregation could donate anytime, anywhere, with just a few clicks? Online giving pages make this possible, transforming the way your church receives contributions. Watch this video to see how online giving pages work.

Automatic Giving : What if your congregation could set up recurring donations, ensuring a steady stream of support for your church? Automatic giving makes this a reality. Check out this free guide to learn more about boosting recurring gifts.

Mobile Donations : What if your congregation could donate with the same ease as sending a text message? Mobile giving apps make this possible, turning smartphones into a conduit for generosity. This video covers just a few of those features.

4. Text-to-Give Software : What if contributing to your church was as simple as sending a text? Text-to-give software for churches offers a swift, secure method for members to contribute via their smartphones, leading to an uptick in tithes and offerings. 

5. In-Livestream Giving : What if your virtual attendees could weave their offerings into their worship seamlessly? In-livestream giving captures fleeting moments of inspiration, making generosity an integral part of the digital worship experience. Watch How In-Livestream Tithes and Offerings Capture Generosity .

6. Mobile Card Readers : What if your congregation could swipe or tap their way to blessings? Mobile card readers allow immediate, hassle-free offerings, fostering a culture of giving, no matter the format.

7. Event Ticketing : What if your community events could supplement tithes and offerings? Church event ticketing provides an avenue for diversified financial stability, while igniting curiosity and drawing new faces into your church's fold.

9. Set Criteria for Leadership Roles

As the church grows, there will be opportunities to select associate pastors and other executive leadership roles. Leadership in ministry has a higher calling than someone in a secular organization.

People placed in these roles are charged with overseeing ministries and volunteers. They need to have integrity and above-average people management skills.

Misconduct by church leadership can significantly impact your church's reputation and standing in the community. It can also lead to legal liability.

Determine how many leadership roles you'll need and under what circumstances additional roles will get added. Also, ask yourself if there are leadership roles that aren't directly related to a specific ministry. For example, deacons, deaconesses, trustees and attorneys. 

The criteria will include:

• Who makes selections.
• How long do appointments last.
• Is compensation involved.
• Roles and responsibilities.

A lot of the duties and responsibilities will depend on the size of the congregation. 

The church will need policies and procedures as it pertains to the operation of the church. In addition, you'll need policies and procedures in the church strategic plan that deals with ministries and the use of   church growth tools .

Without having policies in place, you run the risk of people taking ownership of procedures and tailoring them to fit their needs.  

New Membership Tools

It's one thing to bring people into your ministry. It's another to shepherd and watch over their spiritual growth. 

After extending the invitation to individuals, devise a way to gather demographic information. Will your church offer new membership courses? Decide how and when courses are administered. How many courses are offered, and if they'll be available online? The end goal of new membership courses is to reinforce stewardship and encourage people to join a ministry.

It's a nice gesture to celebrate members that successfully complete new membership programs. One Sunday each month, introduce new members to the congregation and host a meet and greet. 

Creating a Ministry

There are basic ministries that every church has. These include men's ministry , women's ministry, youth and young adult ministries. What happens when a member has an idea for a new ministry?

Strategic planning for churches and ministries must be in place to examine the need of the ministry vs. the culture of the church.

Ideas for new ministries must align with the church’s core values and have a spiritual and Biblical foundation.

Joining a Ministry

Not everyone wants to join a ministry. For those excited about giving service to kingdom building, you'll need guidelines. Some churches require membership and the completion of membership classes before joining a ministry.

Other policies can include the number of ministries a person can serve on at once. How long does a person have to volunteer in a ministry before assuming a leadership role? In addition, guidelines are needed to cover terms of leadership and successor training.

Street Teams

A   street team   is a new-age term used to reference evangelism duties. Since the members of these teams are going into the community as representatives of the church, you may become exposed to legal liability.

Consult with your insurance representative to discuss the church's exposure in the event someone is injured. You'll want to have policies on passing out materials, taking pictures, recording footage and supervision for minors.  

Community Outreach

Community outreach can include many activities. The activities will need individual listings. For the most part, these activities will include partnerships with other churches, non-profits and civic organizations.

Anytime your members and leadership have an opportunity to engage with people in the neighborhood, it shows you are committed to the community. In times like the COVID-19 pandemic, the church has many ways to perform outreach.

When a strategic plan is in place, it becomes easier to mobilize and reach those in need. 

Strategic planning for churches and ministries isn't complete without a plan for branding and marketing. With today's technology, apps , and   digital content , churches can easily strategize how to get in front of their target audience. 

Your church brand is how people will identify and connect with your ministry. Larger churches have put a lot into branding. Everything from logos to catchphrases to color schemes are created with care. 

The ultimate goal in marketing is to grow your platform using name recognition. Here are must-haves for your strategic plan.

Church Website

 The website isn't only your digital calling card. It's also a hub for church applications. Your church website needs a clean look. Stay away from being gimmicky. Avoid distractions like music and a lot of flash media. Include the following:

• Events banner on the homepage.
• Service times and contact information.
• Church history.
• Pastor bio.
• Ministry pages.
• A church donation page .
• A church blog.
• Links to the social media platforms.
• Live streaming software for services.

Become intentional about sharing the link to your website to drive traffic. 

Online Directory

An online directory , when done right, can become a personalized social platform for the church. Basic directories only focus on capturing member contact information.

A strategic plan for the church can involve replacing the church directory currently on an Excel spreadsheet maintained by the church secretary. Instead, it becomes an online hub for ministries to communicate with volunteers and members to communicate with each other.

There are free church apps that include a directory and other helpful tools for your ministry. You can get one for your church by clicking here .

Social Media

Social media has grown tremendously, and  over 69% of adults   are on Facebook alone. Churches cannot ignore the fact their members are part of these online communities. 

Your church strategy plan will outline which social sites can best represent the church. What tools you can use to engage congregants and attract more people. Social media strategies the church can use to build its online presence go beyond posting images and video . For more on social media strategies for churches, you can access our full guide for free.

E-marketing

Email marketing   has been around for a while. Some people may believe it's outdated and ineffective. The truth is if you have a strategy for the content you're sending out, chances are your open rate and engagement with improve.

With the implementation of a mobile app , you can notify email subscribers when a new email campaign goes out. Some services allow users to open the email within the app or a browser. This is beneficial because they don’t have to log into their email to see the content.

Live Streaming

Our last recommendation for a church strategic plan is also the biggest. If your church isn't taking advantage of live streaming , you are behind and need to play catch-up.

Regardless of church size, to remain relevant in today's society and plan for growth, you need to get your sermons outside of the physical church. To do this, you have to invest in streaming. 

Platforms like YouTube and Facebook offer free streaming. Try Vanco's free, comprehensive Facebook Live Streaming Guide for Churches to master streaming on the platform. It will show you best practices, the equipment you need, how to set up a stream and much more.

Get Everything You Need to Know About Church Growth

Download our free eBook to learn everything you need to know about church growth.  By following the guidelines and tested strategies outlined in our eBook, you’ll have the framework needed to give your church a necessary jolt.

• Stewardship

Related Posts

Free Resources

Improve your church's giving request and thank-you messages with these best practices and 35 letter templates.

Boost your church's social presence with our FREE kit! 250 post templates, a strategy guide and holiday graphics. Claim yours today

No items currently match your filtering criteria.

Methods: Planning consistently happens in three areas, personal, ministry and organization and on three levels, strategic, tactical and operational

12 free resources for church vision and strategic planning.

Today there are many definitions for vision and strategic planning but for the purpose of church based planning the definition I prefer is:

“The process of determining the visionary direction of the church or ministry and then breaking down that overall direction into broad objectives, that are then divided into smaller measurable goals and ultimately to specific tactics.”

And, just as there are many definitions for strategic planning there are a variety of proven approaches to strategic planning. And it can be challenging to discern which approach is right for your church or ministry. Our purpose here is not to recommend a specific approach. But rather to provide a variety of vision and strategic planning examples and exercises that may be used by church leadership to stimulate thinking and to identify high impact strategies and tactics for inclusion in the church’s ministry plan.

• Ministry Plan Example
• Church Vision Strategy Development Exercise
• Four Decisions And Four Questions Of Church Strategic Planning
• Church Vision And Organizational Planning Process EXAMPLE
• Corporate Spiritual Discernment MAP
• Easy to Use Focus Group Feedback Questions for Church Strategic Planning
• 30 Sure-Fire Exercises For Church Strategic Planning
• Where We Stand Now Current Realities Exercise
• Divine DNA Discernment Exercise
• Optimize, Change, Clarify, Or Add Church Strategic Planning Exercise Template
• Start, Stop, Continue Decision Making Worksheet
• Church Or Ministry SWOT Analysis Worksheet

Click HERE to read more of my blogs on vision and strategic planning.

Posted on December 23, 2020 Tags: church strategic planning Church Vision

Jim is a Church Organizational Leadership and Management Coach, Consultant and Trainer. Throughout his career Jim has demonstrated a passion for showing Pastors and Ministers how to use organizational tools for church and personal growth and health.

“For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.” Colossians 2:5

3 Sample Nonprofit Business Plans For Inspiration

Download our Ultimate Nonprofit Business Plan Template here

Below are sample plans to help guide you in writing a nonprofit business plan.

• Example #1 – Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) – a Nonprofit Youth Organization based in Chicago, IL
• Example #2 – Church of the Sacred Heart – a Nonprofit Church based in St. Louis, MO
• Example #3 – Finally Home – a Nonprofit Homeless Shelter in Los Angeles, CA

Sample Nonprofit Business Plan #1 – Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) – a Nonprofit Youth Organization based in Chicago, IL

Executive summary.

Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit youth organization that seeks to provide opportunities for students who might otherwise not have access to the arts and humanities. We believe all students should have the opportunity to discover and develop their interests and talents, regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location. We offer completely free after-school programming in music production, digital photography, creative writing, and leadership development to 12-18-year-olds at risk of dropping out of high school.

Our organization has been active for over five years and has run highly successful programs at two schools in the city of Chicago. We have been awarded an active grant from a local foundation for this coming year, but we will need to cover all costs on our own after that point. Nonprofit administrators have seen a lot of turnovers, leaving the organization without a sustainable plan for reaching its goals.

Organization Overview

The Kids Are Our First Priority (KAOFP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit youth organization with a mission to provide opportunities for development and self-expression to students who might otherwise not have access. Audiences include at-risk, low-income students from elementary through high school in the Chicago area.

Our programs are built around creative learning with two goals: firstly, creating a space for learning and growth; secondly, encouraging students to share their work with the world.

KAOFP runs three different programs in partnership with closely related nonprofit organizations, providing after-school programming for elementary, middle, and high school-aged children. Programs take place twice a week at different schools around Chicago. While each program is unique in its goals and activities, all programs focus on creative development in the arts and humanities.

Products, Programs, and Services

The three programs offered by KAOFP are Leadership Development (LD), Creative Writing (CW), and Music Production (MP). Students learn in small groups led by skilled instructors. All activities are designed to encourage student engagement, creativity, expression, and community building. Instructors encourage students to share their work with the world through presentations on- and off-site.

Leadership Development (LD)

The Leadership Development program is designed to provide leadership opportunities for high school students who might not otherwise have access to these experiences. Students learn about facilitation, collaboration, communication, and organizational skills as they plan and run projects of their own design. The program’s goal is to provide a structured environment that encourages students to become more confident and comfortable being leaders in their schools, communities, and future careers.

Creative Writing (CW)

Students learn how to use writing creatively as a tool for expression, discovery, and communication. In small groups led by skilled instructors, students write poetry, short stories, and essays of their own design. They also learn about the publishing industry, read each others’ work, and share their writing with the community.

Music Production (MP)

Students learn how to use digital media as a tool for expression, discovery, and communication. In weekly sessions led by skilled instructors, students explore music production through computer software and recording equipment. Students produce their own music and write about their experiences in weekly journals. Industry professionals in the community often volunteer to lead special workshops and seminars.

Industry Analysis

The youth arts and humanities field is extremely competitive. There are many different types of nonprofit organizations doing similar work, but few credible providers with long-term commitments to their communities. KAOFP’s greatest strengths and competitive advantages are our stable and qualified staff, a strong foundation of funding and community support, and a diverse set of programs.

Our biggest competitors include national non-profits with large budgets for advertising and marketing as well as commercial programs that offer music lessons and creative writing courses which may be more cost-effective than our programs. We feel that by focusing on specific areas of creative expression, KAOFP can better serve its communities and differentiate itself from other nonprofit organizations effectively.

Customer Analysis

KAOFP serves elementary, middle, and high school-aged students with programs that include both after-school and summer programming.

Our focus is on low-income neighborhoods with a high population of at-risk youth. In these areas, KAOFP fills a void in the education system by providing opportunities for creative expression and leadership development to students who would not otherwise have access to these resources.

The demographics of our current students are as follows:

• 91% African-American/Black
• 6% Hispanic/Latino
• 5% Multiracial
• 3.9% Low Income
• 4.9% Not Identified

Our main target is low-income African American and Latino youth in Chicago Public Schools. We would like to expand our outreach to include other communities in need of creative enrichment opportunities.

Marketing Plan

KAOFP’s marketing program is designed to support student, parent, and staff recruitment by promoting the organization’s goals and programs. Our main target audience consists of parents seeking after-school enrichment opportunities for their children that emphasize creativity and the arts.

To reach this audience, we advertise in public schools as well as on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. We intend to begin marketing online through a company-sponsored blog, which will feature regular updates about KAOFP events and activities. We also intend to use word of mouth as a form of marketing.

Strategic partnerships with local schools and community centers will provide us with additional exposure as well as additional resources to secure funding.  

Operations Plan

KAOFP’s day-to-day operation is structured around its programs on Tuesdays from 4 pm to 8 pm.

Administrative offices are located in the same space as each program, allowing instructors to closely monitor their students and provide support as needed. The administrative offices serve the essential function of fundraising, communications, record-keeping, and volunteer coordination. KAOFP’s Board of Directors meets bi-monthly to provide further leadership, guidance, and oversight to our board members and volunteers.

Customer service is conducted by phone and email during our regular business hours of Monday – Friday 9 am to 12 pm.  We are not open on weekends or holidays.

Management Team

KAOFP’s organizational structure includes a Board of Directors, an Executive Director, and Program Directors. The Board of Directors provides guidance and oversight to the organization, while the Executive Director manages day-to-day operations. The Program Directors oversee each of KAOFP’s programs.

KAOFP has a small but dedicated staff that is committed to our students and our mission. Our team has a wide range of experience in the arts, education, and nonprofit sector.

Executive Director

The Executive Director is responsible for the overall management of KAOFP. This includes supervising staff, developing and implementing programs, overseeing finances, and representing the organization to the public.

Our Executive Director, Susie Brown, has been with KAOFP since its inception in 2010. She has a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago. Susie is responsible for the overall management of KAOFP, including supervising staff, developing and implementing programs, overseeing finances, and representing the organization to the public.

Program Directors

Each of KAOFP’s programs is overseen by a Program Director. The Program Directors are responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Art Program Director

The Art Program Director, Rachel Smith, has a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Music Program Director

The Music Program Director, John Jones, has a B.A. in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Theatre Program Director

The Theatre Program Director, Jane Doe, has a B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is responsible for developing and implementing the program curricula, recruiting and training program instructors, and evaluating student progress.

Board of Directors

KAOFP’s Board of Directors provides guidance and oversight to the organization. The Board consists of community leaders, educators, artists, and parents. Board members serve three-year terms and can be renewed for one additional term.

Financial Plan

KAOFP’s annual operating budget is approximately $60,000 per year, with an additional one-time cost of about $10,000 for the purchase of equipment and materials. The agency makes very efficient use of its resources by maintaining low overhead costs. Our biggest expense is instructor salaries, which are approximately 75% of total expenses.

Pro Forma Income Statement

Pro forma balance sheet, pro forma cash flow statement, nonprofit business plan example #2 – church of the sacred heart – a nonprofit church based in st. louis, mo.

The Church of Sacred Heart is a nonprofit organization located in St. Louis, Missouri that provides educational opportunities for low-income families. We provide the best quality of education for young children with tuition rates significantly lower than public schools. It has been voted Best Catholic Elementary School by the St Louis Post Dispatch for four years running, and it has maintained consistently high ratings of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google Reviews since its opening in 1914.

The Church of Sacred Heart strives to build strong relationships with our community by making an impact locally but not forgetting that we operate on global principles. As such, our school commits 10% of its profits to charitable organizations throughout the world every year, while also conducting fundraisers throughout the year to keep tuition rates affordable.

We are currently transitioning from a safe, high-quality learning environment to an even more attractive facility with state-of-the-art technology and modern materials that will appeal to young students and their families. New facilities, such as additional classrooms and teachers’ lounges would allow us not only to accommodate new students but also attract current families by having more places within the school where they can spend time between classes.

By taking full advantage of available opportunities to invest in our teachers, students, and facilities, we will be able to achieve steady revenue growth at 4% per year until 20XX.

The Church of Sacred Heart provides a safe learning environment with an emphasis on strong academics and a nurturing environment that meets the needs of its young students and their families. Investing in new facilities will allow us to provide even better care for our children as we continue to grow as a school.

Mission Statement: “We will strive diligently to create a safe, respectful environment where students are encouraged and inspired to learn through faith.”

Vision Statement: “Sacred Heart believes education gives every child the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

The Church of the Sacred Heart was built in 1914 and is located in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood, an area with a high concentration of poverty, crime, unemployment, and abandoned buildings.

The church houses the only Catholic school for low-income families in the north city; together they formed Sacred Heart’s educational center (SCE). SCE has strived to provide academic excellence to children from low-income families by providing a small, nurturing environment as well as high academic standards.

The facility is in need of renovations and new equipment to continue its mission.

The Church of the Sacred Heart is a small nonprofit organization that provides a variety of educational and community services.

The services provided by Sacred Heart represent a $5 billion industry, with nonprofit organizations accounting for $258.8 billion of that total.

The health care and social assistance sector is the largest among nonprofits, representing 32 percent of revenues, followed by educational services (18 percent), and human and other social service providers (16 percent).

The key customers for the Church of the Sacred Heart are families in need of affordable education. The number of students in the school has increased from 500 when it opened in 1914 to 1,100 at its peak during 20XX-20XX but has since declined due to various reasons.

The children at Sacred Heart are from low-income families and 91 percent qualify for free or reduced lunches. Most parents work or have a family member who works full-time, while others don’t work due to child care restraints. The number of children enrolled in Sacred Heart is stable at 1,075 students because there is a lack of affordable alternatives to Catholic education in the area.

SCE offers K-5th grade students a unique learning experience in small groups with individualized instruction.

Sacred Heart has an established brand and is well known for its high standards of academic excellence, which include a 100 percent graduation rate.

Sacred Heart attracts prospective students through promotional materials such as weekly bulletins, mailers to homes that are located in the area served, and local churches.

Parents and guardians of children enrolled in Sacred Heart are mainly referrals from current families, word-of-mouth, and parishioners who learn about the school by attending Mass at Sacred Heart.

The Church of Sacred Heart does not currently advertise; however, it is one of the few Catholic schools that serve low-income families in St. Louis, MO, and therefore uses word of mouth to attract new students to its school.

The Church of Sacred Heart has an established brand awareness within the target audience despite not having direct marketing plans or materials.

The operations section for the Church of the Sacred Heart consists of expanding its after-school program as well as revamping its facility to meet the growing demand for affordable educational services.

Sacred Heart is located in an area where more than one-third of children live below the poverty line, which helps Sacred Heart stand out among other schools that are more upscale. Expansion into after-school programs will allow it to capture a larger market share by providing additional services to its target audience.

In order to expand, Sacred Heart will have to hire additional personnel as well as invest in new equipment and supplies for both the school and the after-school program.

The Church of Sacred Heart’s financial plan includes a fundraising plan that would help renovate the building as well as acquire new equipment and supplies for the school.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Catholic elementary schools across all grade levels spend an average of $6,910 per pupil on operating expenses. A fundraising initiative would help Sacred Heart acquire additional revenue while expanding its services to low-income families in St Louis, MO.

Financial Overview

The Church of the Sacred Heart expects to generate revenues of about $1.2 million in fiscal year 20XX, representing a growth rate of 2 percent from its 20XX revenue level. For 20XX, the church expects revenues to decrease by 4 percent due to a decline in enrollment and the lack of new students. The Church of Sacred Heart has experienced steady revenue growth since its opening in 1914.

• Revenue stream 1: Tuition – 22%
• Revenue stream 2: Investment income – 1%

Despite being located in a poverty-stricken area, the Church of Sacred Heart has a stable revenue growth at 4 percent per year. Therefore, Sacred Heart should be able to attain its 20XX revenue goal of $1.2 million by investing in new facilities and increasing tuition fees for students enrolled in its after-school program.

Income Statement f or the fiscal year ending December 31, 20XX

Revenue: $1.2 million

Total Expenses: $910,000

Net Income Before Taxes: $302,000

Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 20XX 

Cash and Cash Equivalents: $25,000

Receivables: $335,000

Property and Equipment: $1.2 million

Intangible Assets: $0

Total Assets: $1.5 million

Balance Statement

The board of directors has approved the 20XX fiscal year budget for Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which is estimated at $1.3 million in revenues and $920,000 in expenditures.

Cash Flow Statement f or the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 20XX

Operating Activities: Income Before Taxes -$302,000

Investing Activities: New equipment and supplies -$100,000

Financing Activities: Fundraising campaign $200,000

Net Change in Cash: $25,000

According to the 20XX fiscal year financial statements for Sacred Heart Catholic Church, it expects its investments to decrease by 4 percent and expects to generate $1.3 million in revenues. Its total assets are valued at $1.5 million, which consists of equipment and property worth approximately 1.2 million dollars.

The Church of Sacred Heart’s financial statements demonstrate its long-term potential for strong revenue growth due to its steady market share held with low-income families in St. Louis, MO.

Nonprofit Business Plan Example #3 – Finally Home – a Nonprofit Homeless Shelter in Los Angeles, CA

Finally Home is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide low-income single-parent families with affordable housing. The management team has a strong background in the social service industry and deep ties in the communities they plan to serve. In addition, Finally Home’s CEO has a background in real estate development, which will help the organization as they begin developing its operations.

Finally Home’s mission is to reinvent affordable housing for low-income single-parent families and make it more sustainable and accessible. They will accomplish this by buying homes from families and renting them out at an affordable price. Finally Home expects its model of affordable housing to become more sustainable and accessible than any other model currently available on the market today. Finally Home’s competitive advantage over similar organizations is that it will purchase land and buildings from which to build affordable housing. This gives them a greater amount of ownership over their communities and the properties in which the homes are located, as well as freedom when financing these projects.

Finally Home plans on accomplishing this by buying real estate in areas with high concentrations of low-income families who are ready to become homeowners. These homes will be used as affordable housing units until they are purchased by Finally Home’s target demographic, at which point the organizations will begin renting them out at a base rate of 30% of the family’s monthly household income.

Finally Home plans on financing its operations through both private donations and contributions from foundations, corporations, and government organizations.

Finally Home’s management team has strong backgrounds in the social service industry, with deep ties to families that will be prepared to take advantage of Finally Home’s affordable housing opportunities. The CEO of Finally Home also brings extensive real estate development experience to the organization, an asset that will be especially helpful as Finally Home begins its operations.

Finally Home is a nonprofit organization, incorporated in the State of California, whose mission is to help homeless families by providing them with housing and support services. The centerpiece of our program, which will be replicated nationwide if successful, is an apartment complex that offers supportive living for single parents and their children.

The apartments are fully furnished, and all utilities are paid.

All the single parents have jobs, but they don’t earn enough to pay market-rate rent while still paying for other necessities such as food and transportation.

The organization was founded in 20XX by Henry Cisneros, a former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who served under President Bill Clinton. Cisneros is the chairman of Finally Home’s board of directors, which includes leaders with experience in banking, nonprofit management, and housing professions.

The core values are family unity, compassion for the poor, and respect for our clients. They are the values that guide our employees and volunteers at Finally Home from start to finish.

According to the United States Conference of Mayors’ Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness 20XX Report, “Hunger & Homelessness Survey: A Status Report on Hunger & Homelessness in America’s Cities,” almost half (48%) of all homeless people are members of families with children. Of this number, over one quarter (26%) are under the age of 18.

In 20XX, there were 9.5 million poor adults living in poverty in a family with children and no spouse present. The majority of these families (63%) have only one earner, while 44% have zero earners because the person is not old enough or does not work for other reasons.

The total number of people in poverty in 20XX was 46.5 million, the largest number since Census began publishing these statistics 52 years ago.

Finally Home’s goal is to help single parents escape this cycle of poverty through providing affordable housing and case management services to support them long term.

Unique Market Position

Finally Home creates unique value for its potential customers by creating housing where it does not yet exist.

By helping single parents escape poverty and become self-sufficient, Finally Home will drive demand among low-income families nationwide who are experiencing homelessness. The high level of need among this demographic is significant nationwide. However, there are no other organizations with the same market position as Finally Home.

Finally Home’s target customers are low-income families who are experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. The organization will actively seek out these families through national networks of other social service providers to whom they refer their clients regularly.

Finally Home expects to have a waiting list of families that are interested in the program before they even open their doors.

This customer analysis is based on the assumption that these particular demographic groups are already active users of other social service programs, so referrals will be natural and easy for Finally Home.

Industry Capacity

This information is based on the assumption that these particular demographic groups are already active users of other social service programs, so referrals will be natural and easy for Finally Home.

There is a growing demand for low-income single-parent housing nationwide, yet there is no one organization currently providing these services on a national level like Finally Home.

Thus, Finally Home has a competitive advantage and market niche here because it will be the only nonprofit organization of its kind in the country.

Finally Home’s marketing strategies will focus on attracting potential customers through national networks of other social service providers. They will advertise to their referral sources using materials developed by the organization.  Finally Home will also advertise its services online, targeting low-income families using Google AdWords.

Finally Home will be reinventing affordable housing to make it more accessible and sustainable for low-income single parents. In this new model, Finally Home will own the land and buildings on which its housing units are built, as well as the properties in which they are located.

When a family is ready to move into an affordable housing unit, Finally Home will buy the home they currently live in. This way, families can take advantage of homeownership services like property tax assistance and financial literacy courses that help them manage their newfound wealth.

Finally Home has already partnered with local real estate agents to identify properties for purchase. The organization expects this to result in homes that are at least 30% cheaper than market value.

Finally Home will finance its operational plan through the use of private contributions and donations from public and private foundations, as well as corporate sponsorships.

Finally Home’s management team consists of:

• Veronica Jones, CEO, and Founder
• Mark MacDonald, COO
• Scott Bader, CFO

Management Summary

The management team has a strong history of social service advocacy and deep ties in the communities they plan to serve. In addition, the organization’s CEO has a background in real estate development that will be helpful as Finally Home begins operations.

• Year 1: Operation startup costs to launch first five houses ($621,865)
• Year 2: Deliver on market offer and complete first capital raise ($4,753,000)
• Year 3: Deliver on market offer and complete $5 million capital raise ($7,950,000)
• Year 4+: Continue to grow market share with a national network of social services providers ($15,350,000).

This nonprofit business plan will serve as an effective road map for Finally Home in its efforts to create a new model for affordable housing.

Nonprofit Business Plan Example PDF

Download our non-profit business plan pdf here. This is a free nonprofit business plan example to help you get started on your own nonprofit plan.

How to Finish Your Nonprofit Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your nonprofit business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Nonprofit Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Other Helpful Nonprofit Business Planning Articles

• Non-Profit Business Plan
• How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan
• 10 Tips to Make Your Nonprofit’s Business Plan Stand Out
• How to Write a Mission Statement for Your Nonprofit Organization
• Strategic Planning for a Nonprofit Organization
• How to Write a Marketing Plan for Your Nonprofit Business
• 4 Top Funding Sources for a Nonprofit Organization
• What is a Nonprofit Organization?
• 20 Nonprofit Organization Ideas For Your Community

All Formats

Plan Templates

11+ church strategic plans – doc, pdf.

If you’re setting a new church facility or redoing an existing one you’d be aware that you’re going to need a well-drawn strategic plan for the same. In reality, a simple strategic plan for a church contains details of how all the tasks are going to be achieved. We have simple church strategic plan templates for you – in multiple styles and different strategic plan formats – which you can download, customize, print and use.

• 568+ Plan Templates in Word
• 568+ Plan Template Samples

Church Strategic Plan Template

• Google Docs

5 Steps to Create a Strategic Plan

Step 1: evaluate your present position, step 2: prospective clients, step 3: list out your strengths and weaknesses, step 4: plan your approach, step 5: action plan, strategic plan template.

Christian Church Strategic Plan Template

Trinity Baptist Church Strategic Plan Doc Format Free Template

Free PDF Springwood Uniting Church Strategic Plan Template

Wildflower Church Strategic Plan PDF Format Free Template

New Church Strategic Plan Template Free Download PDF

PDF Format Victory Baptist Church Strategic Plan Free Download

Southern Baptist Church Strategic Plan Free PDF Template

Free Download St Gregory Church Strategic Plan PDF Template

PDF Format Queensland Church Strategic Plan Free Template Download

Free PDF Format Church Strategic Plan Template

More in Plan Templates

Simple church letterhead template, sample church letterhead template, sponsorship letter for church event template, invitation letter to church service, invitation letter to a church event, church revival invitation letter, church program invitation letter, church invitation letter to other churches, church invitation letter for visa, church dedication invitation letter.

• 7+ Financial Plan Templates
• 10+ Operational Plan Templates
• 9+ Training Plan Templates
• 5+ Shooting Schedule Template
• 11+ School Counselor Lesson Plan Templates in PDF | Word
• 9+ Interdisciplinary Lesson Plan Templates in PDF | MS Word
• 10+ Business Continuity Plan Templates in Google Docs | Ms Word | Pages | PDF
• 18+ Compensation Plan Templates in Google Docs | MS Word | Pages | PDF
• 10+ Executive Bonus Plan Templates in PDF
• 8+ Facility Management Plan Templates in PDF
• 10+ Diversity Recruitment Plan Templates in PDF | MS Word
• 11+ Audit Corrective Action Plan Templates in MS Word | Excel | PDF
• 9+ Recruitment Agency Marketing Plan Templates in PDF
• 10+ Recruitment Marketing Plan Templates in PDF | MS Word
• 10+ Student Recruitment Plan Templates in PDF | MS Word

File Formats

Word templates, google docs templates, excel templates, powerpoint templates, google sheets templates, google slides templates, pdf templates, publisher templates, psd templates, indesign templates, illustrator templates, pages templates, keynote templates, numbers templates, outlook templates.

Do you want more visitors?

• Google Grant
• Sermon Sling

Church Financial Statements: Templates for Good Stewardship

Emma Davis June 3, 2024 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Income and expenses, all the savings accounts, balance sheets, bookkeeping templates, and so much more. When it comes to church financial statements, where do you even begin? 1.5 million people tithe to their churches in the United States, representing billions of dollars, and church financial reports are a critical part of this process. Churches are nonprofit organizations, so establishing a church budget and providing reports on their financial management to facilitate financial transparency with their members is an important function of their operations.

A church financial report to congregation members can help churches maintain this financial transparency. This is why it’s so important to draft regular monthly or quarterly reports and an annual report at the end of every financial year. assess key business analytics track debt payments calculate savings estimates financial affairs

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Table of contents

Why does a church need to provide financial statements, understanding the terms, typical church funds, monthly church financial report to congregation members, legal requirements for church financial statements, making financial decisions, vanco payments, template.net, 1. balance sheet, 2. income statement, 3. expense statement, 4. fund balances.

A church is a nonprofit organization and therefore must keep accurate financial income statements every year to maintain this status. These financial statements may not be needed for tax filings, but they are still incredibly important to describe the church’s finances. This is essential if the church ever wants to apply for a loan or prove financial viability.

In addition to potential tax and financial requirements, creating and maintaining accurate financial records helps churches maintain financial transparency. Financial transparency is vital for churches, nonprofits, and the government due to the source of their income. Tax payments are important to keep track of!

The bulk of a church’s income comes directly from the congregation, so it’s essential to create accurate church financial reports to show the congregation exactly where their money is going and to know the IRS rules for church donations. Financial transparency can help build a better relationship between church leadership , the congregation, and the community at large. This can also include the church finance committee, which helps manage its finances. tax payments

Below are the most important reasons why your church needs to embrace fund accounting:

• Transparency : Fund accounting provides transparency by clearly delineating how funds are raised and spent, ensuring donors have confidence in your ministry’s financial management
• Stewardship : Your church has a responsibility to steward the resources God has given you. Fund accounting allows you to monitor the financial health of various ministries and programs at your church , guaranteeing resources are allocated wisely
• Decision-making : By providing detailed financial reports for each fund, this method equips church leaders with the information they need to make informed decisions about resource allocation and strategic planning
• Compliance : Nonprofit organizations, including churches, are subject to specific regulations and reporting requirements. Fund accounting helps maintain compliance by accurately tracking restricted funds and expenses

Fund accounting revolves around a few fundamental terms:

• Funds – This refers to the money you have set aside for a specific purpose at your ministry. Your church will have one unrestricted fund (usually called a General Fund) and restricted funds. You can spend the money in a fund only on what the fund is designated for
• Income and Expenses – The primary source of income for most churches is tithes and offerings . But your church will need to track all income, regardless of source. The same goes for every way your church spends money
• Categories – allow you to label each income or expense transaction to better identify its purpose. You’ll sometimes hear this referred to as a “chart of accounts”
• Assets – A church asset can range anywhere from the checking account to the pastor’s retirement account and the land or buildings owned outright by the church
• Liabilities – These are your church’s debts, such as a mortgage or credit card

Churches manage various funds, including the General Fund for day-to-day operations, the Missions Fund for outreach initiatives, the Building Fund for construction or maintenance projects, the Youth Fund for youth programs, and the Benevolence Fund for charitable assistance.

• The General Fund – This one is for day-to-day operations. Your annual church budget will be based on the money you receive and set aside in the General Fund.
• The Missions Fund – if your church supports missionaries or engages in outreach and evangelism
• Building Fund – To save money for a downpayment on a new building or to pay for maintenance and improvements on the facilities you own
• Love Offering Fund – Sometimes called a “Benevolence Fund,” if your church needs cash on hand to give to someone in an emergency, you will need to set up a Love Offering Fund to manage this ministry
• Youth or Children’s Ministry Fund – Investing in future generations of believers requires setting aside money in the church budget for your youth and/or children’s ministry to use

One of the best ways to maintain financial transparency is to publish a monthly church financial report to the congregation. These reports don’t have to be as detailed or lengthy as the annual report. However, the monthly report should include vital financial information to help your congregation stay informed.

Churches generate income from several different sources, with tithes often being the largest source. You can publish a monthly financial report for the congregation to let them know how much you collected in tithes for the previous month. This statement also can indicate how much money the church spent in the last month.

This simple church financial report lets everyone know how much money came into the church and how much was spent. If more money was spent, this tells the congregation they need to help raise more funds for the church to cover its bills. In this way, the monthly church financial report to the congregation can encourage people to give more to their local churches.

Monthly reports work because transparency helps build community buy-in. The congregation and community feel like they are part of the church and share in the goals and aspirations of the church. In this way, they are also compelled to give more and do everything they can to ensure the church succeeds. At the end of the day, transparency makes the congregation feel like the success of the church is their own personal success.

Churches aren’t required to provide giving statements unless there is an exchange of goods or services after receiving a donation of $75 or more. Outside of that scenario, there is not a penalty for not providing a contribution statement in the United States. 

However, it’s still recommended that churches provide these giving statements for several reasons. First, the statement enables donors to file their contribution as a write-off on their own taxes and they can’t legally file a donation with the IRS without written proof of what, and how much, they gave. Donors bear responsibility for obtaining a written acknowledgment from a charity for any single contribution of $250 or more before they can claim a charitable contribution on their federal income tax returns. 

These statements can also be useful for a church in the event of an IRS audit since they will have to disclose contribution and accounting info to the state. So while there isn’t a legal requirement to provide financial statements for many donations, doing so is largely beneficial for both the church and the donor.  

Financial statements tell you exactly how much money your church makes, how much money the church has, and where the money is. This is vital information that can help guide your operational decisions. Maintaining accurate financial statements can provide leaders with all the information they need to evaluate opportunities and plan outreach projects in the future.

At the end of the day, financial statements show you how much you can afford to spend. This comes in handy when planning what you’re going to spend in the next year. An annual report blends these elements into one seamless document.

This document will summarize what happened last year, how much money your church spent last year , what the church plans to do this year and the budget for this year.

Free Church Financial Report Template

Building a church financial report can be challenging, especially when you do it from scratch. That’s why we found free editable templates you can use to get started. Press download church bookkeeping template on any of these sites to get started!

Vanco Payments has great church bookkeeping template features to take advantage of. They have a simple and basic free church financial report on their website. This PDF document is a customizable file that allows you to put in whatever information you need. Vanco also provides a church finance committee agenda meeting template and a budget planning template.

Template.Net is a fantastic resource to use for more than just an income and expense statement. For just $12 a month, you’ll have access to over 1 million templates and editors. But template.net also has several different free income and expense statement templates to try out. Be sure to look through all they have to offer!

Church Financial Reporting Requirements

As nonprofit organizations, churches are required to manage their finances throughout the year. While churches don’t need to submit tax returns, they should however draft annual financial reports representing their entire organizations. These reports can vary from organization to organization. However, there are a few requirements that must be in every report. Here’s a quick look at these essentials.

A balance sheet is a statement that highlights an organization’s specific financial position. This document is incredibly simple and indicates the value of all the organization’s assets. The assets are totaled and compared to liabilities and equity.

The balance sheet is based on an accounting formula that states assets must equal liabilities plus equity. This document outlines and totals all assets on the left side of the ledger and all liabilities and equity on the right side of the ledger. Most organizations list the new totals for the year and include the totals from last year. This way, you can quickly see what changed in the last financial year.

An income statement is the most important document to include in every church financial report as well as your annual report. The first part of this statement outlines every cent that comes into the church. The latter part of the statement indicates how the money was spent.

This income and expense statement shows the net profit or net loss for each year. Including this statement is important to indicate exactly how much money came in and how much money left your organization this year.

While expenses are listed in the income statement, churches should also include a separate expense statement elsewhere. This statement builds on the income statement and breaks down every expense further. This means that every cent that’s spent should be accounted for with a good reason that you can report to your congregation.

Expense statements can come in different forms but should achieve the same goal — to be as transparent as possible on how the church spends its money. This statement can reference invoices but should also provide details for each purchase or transaction.

Most churches and nonprofit organizations raise money for different needs . For example, a church could collect revenue through tithes but also wants to set up another fund specifically for outreach projects. If this is the case, you need to include your fund balances and contributions in your annual report.

These balance statements are simple to draft and should start with the opening balance for each fund at the beginning of the year. You can total the contributions for that year below the balance. Lastly, you can add them together to highlight the current balance of the fund at the end of the financial year.

Related Links:

• 3 Easy Steps to Create a Realistic Church Budget
• A Complete Church Treasurer Job Description for Your Church
• Seven Financial Changes Your Church Needs To Make To Thrive This Year
• Post Pandemic Church Attendance News Report – 2023

About The Author

Emma currently lives in Texas where she loves to write, read, and bake. She graduated from Hillsong College in Australia and received her degree in Communications from DBU in Dallas. She uses her passion for writing to communicate the love God has for his people.

See author's posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Free Reports

• Church Marketing Review
• Grant Eligibility Checker
• Local SEO Report
• Social Media Calendar

Google Gives Churches And Non-Profits A Grant Worth $10,000 Every Month?

Church Report

Report generator.

Whether we like it or not, reports are everywhere. Companies create reports to document the various ongoings of their business, such as their financials or the progress of their projects . Organizations like churches are not exempted either, although the specifics will differ. If this is something you are curious about, then you’ve come to the right place. Read on not just to learn about the various kinds of church reports, but also to get templates from our varied list.

Church Report Examples & Templates

1. church report template.

• Google Docs

Size: A4 & US

2. Church Financial Report Template

3. Free Church Expense Report

• Google Sheets

4. Annual Local Church Report

Size: 789 KB

5. Church Systems Task Force Report

6. Church Multiplication Report

Size: 104 KB

7. Church Report Form

Size: 70 KB

8. Church Activities Report

Size: 279 KB

9. Quarterly Church Report Form

Size: 14 KB

10. Church Property Damage Loss Report

Size: 22 KB

11. Church Assessment Report

12. Small Church Evangelism Report

Size: 396 KB

13. Sample Church Report

Size: 51 KB

14. Church Statistical Report

Size: 135 KB

What are Church Reports?

Church reports are documents that detail the many ongoings of the church throughout a specific time period. Many write them yearly, which explains the occasional need for a sample church annual report or a church annual report template. Then there are those who prefer the use of church monthly report samples. The main purpose here is honest communication, which allows the church to communicate openly regarding the scope of their activities. The handling of funds, for example, will require a church financial report. As unique as it can be as far as organizations go, transparency still goes a long way for virtually all churches.

How to Write a Church Report

Let us turn our attention to the creation process of a church report . There are no hard-fast rules to this endeavor, but the following steps should still prove quite useful:

Step 1: Pick Out the Appropriate Template

Beginners may not know which church reports format to decide on. To remedy that, it is advisable to first utilize the many templates that are free to download out there. Choose the ones that are most appropriate for your needs. Doing so will make the rest of your efforts much easier.

Step 2: Decide on Your Content

If you already have a specific purpose in mind, then this does not have to be difficult. Even with that said, you must plan everything out in advance. Don’t include anything irrelevant but be as comprehensive as you can. Also, take good care not to neglect anything important, such as notable happenings or specific financial  information.

Step 3: Include Pictures and Visuals

Even church reports would be better if they include some pictures. This isn’t just a design-related step; photos of important events can contribute to documentation efforts. Visual aids like infographics and other similar items can also make reading the report easier and far less tedious.

Step 4: Provide Insights on Future Plans

Although reports usually detail what’s already happened, you can always include a glimpse at what you intend to do in the future. This part does not have to be too extensive. It can be as simple as writing down your goals for the next year, for example.

What should you do with the church report once it’s been written?

You may post it online through your website or you may even post it on your church bulletin .

Can a church report be emailed to members of the church?

Yes. Particularly if the report involves plans for future activities, it would be nice for churchgoers to receive an email about them.

How long should a church report be?

A church report of any kind does not have to be more than a few pages long at most. If it can fit into a single page, the better.

As you can see, even the church produces its fair share of reports. It doesn’t matter if it is a church annual report, a church incident report, a church committee  report, or any other similar document. What’s important is that you are not only more knowledgeable now, but you also have a reliable place to download the best templates. So what’s next on your agenda? Whatever it may be, be sure to act boldly as you pursue your goals and objectives today!

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Generate a report on the impact of technology in the classroom on student learning outcomes

Prepare a report analyzing the trends in student participation in sports and arts programs over the last five years at your school.