Should Churches Use Business Strategies?

Why Does It Matter?

Many churches have begun to adopt business practices. Should churches utilize business strategies? This article will explore that topic.

This is typically considered a secondary topic when the particular business practice affects the church one attends, and it is considered a tertiary issue when it does not affect the church one attends.

What Is It?

Many churches have begun to adopt business practices. This becomes evident in, at least, the following eight ways.

One way this may be reflected is in the model of pastoral ministry. Generally, when a church functions more like a business, a pastor functions more like a CEO. When a church follows a classic model of pastoral ministry, a pastor usually functions as a pastor-theologian. (For more on different models of pastoral ministry, read this article titled, "What Should Pastors Do with Their Time? | 5 Models of Pastoral Ministry.")

Another way business practices may be seen in church is by utilizing marketing and advertising. Business marketing and advertising principles are employed in various formats in order to raise awareness and bring in people. (Sometimes this can also be seen with gimmicks and give-aways.)

Moreover, sometimes it may be reflected in the leadership structure of the church. Businesses are typically structured in a particular way. Churches on the other hand have typically been structured in other ways. Some churches have begun to adopt a corporate structure. (For more on that topic, read this article titled, "How Should a Church Be Led? | 5 Views on Church Government.")

Perhaps, business practices may also be reflected in church staffing. For example, staffing may include human resources, finance, marketing, operations, and IT departments.

Also, some churches may adopt financial management practices and principles from the business world. This may mean the handling of finances, raising of finances, investing of finances, and so forth.

Still others may have adopted the business approach of developing mission statements, vision statements, and business plans. (Click here to read the related article: "Should Churches Have Mission & Vision Statements?")

For others it may be reflected in the types of books that are emphasized and followed. Perhaps, sometimes, there is no conflict with these business books and the Bible. However, we may still want to ask: is it necessary? Other times there may be a direct conflict between business ideas and Holy Scripture. (To name a few business authors that I've seen church leaders emphasize: Patrick Lencioni, Michael Gerber, Jim Collins, Keith Ferrazzi, John Kotter, Stephen/Sean Covey, Simon Sinek, and Harvard Business Press)

For other churches, various sales strategies seem to be utilized in order to "sell" people on the gospel, giving more, serving more, or joining an event, program, or service project.

Biblical

Many of these business books, strategies, and practices are new. Therefore, they didn't exist 2,000 years ago and Scripture does not directly address them. Thus, we may not be able to flat-out reject them (that is, based on a clear Scripture which addresses the topic). However, since many of these business practices were not used back then, we cannot require them today either. Instead, then, we should utilize wisdom as we sift through them.

Here are a few key Scriptures which are relevant to this topic:

[Mat 20:25-28 ESV] 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
- Note: This seems to be a caution against using worldly leadership philosophies that are contrary to Jesus's form of servant leadership. What are the implications for church leaders?
[Mat 21:12-13 ESV] 12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."
- Note: Jesus was not against business. Jesus followed in the family business (as a carpenter; see Mark 6:3). However, he was opposed to turning worship and prayer in the temple into a business. What are the implications for churches?
[2Ti 4:1-4 ESV] 1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
- Note: It seems to me that a marketer would say that the problem of itching ears can be resolved by figuring out a way to appeal to the crowd, whereas in this situation Scripture seems to say the crowd isn't desiring the right things (it has itching ears and you should continue to be faithful to preach the Scriptures).
[Eph 2:19-22 ESV] 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
- Note: The church is described here as a family rather than a business.

Reflections

Similarities Between Businesses and Churches

Both are organizations (that is, an organized group of people who share a common purpose).
Both handle organizational finances
Both have employees (that is, people paid to work)
Both may have buildings to maintain, administrative expenses, etc.

Differences Between Businesses and Churches

Businesses are focused on work done on this earth during one's lifetime. Churches are focused both on the earth and the future, eternal hope (or eternal death) which awaits.
Businesses sell a product, or service, while churches offer the gospel for free.
Businesses provide what people want while the church seems to provide what the world rejects (without the work of the Holy Spirit).
Businesses want to solve a problem. Churches are commissioned by Christ to make and strengthen disciples in the good news of Christ (which solves the ultimate problem: sin).
Businesses evaluate performance based on works while the church declares the gospel of grace.
For businesses, the goal is profit. For churches, the goal is glorifying God by faithfully proclaiming his gospel throughout the world and presenting believers mature in Christ.
Jamie Dunlop points out the difference between a business strategy and a church strategy. Businesses create their strategies while the church has been given its strategy in Scripture. Moreover, businesses seek for their strategies to have these two components: (1) differentiation and (2) a target market. Churches on the other hand aren't trying to stand out from the church down the road, and they don't seek a narrow target market. All churches have been given the same strategy and everyone is the target. As Dunlop also notes, the Scottish pastor William Still has this pithy quote: “Either the Church will be content to apply itself to God’s ordinary means and trust him for their extraordinary ends; or, the Church will pursue extraordinary means and content itself with ordinary ends.”[2]

The purpose here is not to say that one is right and the other is wrong. The purpose is to point out that businesses and churches have both similarities and differences.

Put simply, it is not biblical to treat the church as a business. Why? Businesses are man-centered while churches should be God-centered. In his article, "Church is Not a Business," Corey Staton says,

Treating the church as a business has never been a biblical model. Businesses are all about profits, marketing, advertising, and being innovative. If anything, this is the total opposite of what the church is meant to be because the business mentality is man-centered and the church is God-centered. For business, customer is king. For church, Christ is King. This means the church is wholly different than any business, even a “Christian” one. It is my pleasure to say that Chick-fil-A has a business model, not a church model. And they should because they are not the church. Sadly, the church frequently adopts a business mindset and there are several dangers that accompany this mindset.[3]

Now, what about churches who sell books? What about fundraisers? What about merch? In the GotQuestions article titled, "What does the Bible say about selling in the church?," the author writes,

Obviously, selling books, having a raffle, doing fundraising, etc., is different from what was going on in the temple. Jesus was not necessarily angry that they were selling in the temple, but rather that selling was becoming the focus instead of God. Jesus was also angry that the moneychangers were taking advantage of people, many of whom were poor, who needed their services. Pigeons and other animals were required for the offering, and tithes in acceptable currency were also a requirement.

Such is not the case in today's churches. Purchases in a church bookstore or at a church craft sale, for example, are entirely voluntary. No purchase is necessary to attend worship. If a church does decide to sell something inside the church or to host a fundraiser, it should make sure that the selling does not receive undue attention and does not draw away from worship and the teaching of God’s Word. Selling should also never be made "high-pressure."[4]

Thus, churches should make sure that the church is Godward in orientation. It is focused on worship. Churches are focused on making and strengthening disciples. If books are sold, why? If fundraisers are done, why? If merch is sold, why? If it distracts from worshiping God, then perhaps we should scrap it. If it helps in worshiping God, then maybe it should be kept. If there is a clear biblical reason, then we should keep it. If not, maybe we should scrap it.

Another thought is contextualization (adapting our approach to the culture in which the church is located). Many people in contemporary culture are familiar with businesses and their methods. To what degree should we adapt a church to modern culture in order to reach it and help the gospel make sense? What would be under-contextualization (like a missionary who doesn't learn the language people speak)? What would be over-contextualization (where the church doesn't look much different from the surrounding culture)?

In sum, perhaps some things can be brought over from the business world, but others cannot. Churches may land in different places on this important topic. But churches are not businesses. So, if a church looks identical to a business, then surely something is deeply wrong (and if Jesus visited, would he flip over some of the tables?).

Matthew Emadi says it well: "Simply put, local churches aren’t like businesses; they’re more like embassies of a great kingdom or a family in the same household."[5]

Where Can I Learn More?

End Notes:

[1] Jamie Dunlop, "Strategy is Critical--but You Already Have One!," 9Marks, August 27, 2024, https://www.9marks.org/article/strategy-is-critical-but-you-already-have-one/.

[2] William Still, "From the Archives – Thirty-eight Years at Gilcomston," Banner of Truth, July 16, 2010, https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2010/from-the-archives-thirty-eight-years-at-gilcomston/.

[3] Corey Staton, "Church is Not a Business," For the Church, September 29, 2021, https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/church-is-not-a-business/#:~:text=Treating%20the%20church%20as%20a,dangers%20that%20accompany%20this%20mindset.

[4] "What does the Bible say about selling in church?," GotQuestions, https://www.gotquestions.org/selling-in-church.html.

[5] Matthew Emadi, "Should the Church Operate Like a Business?," Crossway, June 11, 2021, https://www.crossway.org/articles/should-the-church-operate-like-a-business/.