How to Make the Dreams for Your Church Reality

By Raul Rivera

Pastors are dreamers. 

You cannot help it. It is as if dreaming is a part of your DNA. This is one of the reasons why I love talking with pastors.

At StartCHURCH, we want to hear about the dreams and visions you have for your church and ministry. We want to hear what God is doing through you and your ministry.

But one of the most common themes we often hear amongst pastors during these conversations is that of uncertainty. 

Many pastors are simply unsure of where to begin. And in some instances these pastors are unsure if they actually heard from God.

I want you to know that the dreams you have in your heart for your ministry are of God.

As I have talked with thousands of pastors across the country, all with similar dreams and desires, I was able to present them with a strategy to help make their dreams a reality.

In this blog I am going to present to you the same strategy that I have presented to thousands of pastors and ministry leaders at our conferences. 

As you read through this blog, I want you to think about the dreams you have in your heart for your church or ministry in 2018 and allow the Lord to reveal to you how you can put this strategy to work for your church so that your dreams can become reality.

How to make your dreams become reality

In the book of Genesis, when Joseph shared his dream with his brothers, they were none too pleased. In fact, they wanted to kill him. I believe much of their resentment towards Joseph was because they did not fully understand his dream.

After all, it was a dream that God gave to Joseph, not to his brothers.

The reality is that not everyone will understand your dreams. And as a pastor, that can be frustrating.

But I have been where you are, and I understand the dreams in your heart that you sometimes struggle to articulate.

Why?

Because I had those same dreams when I was a pastor in Florida.

As a result, God gave me a strategy that would help my dreams come to fruition. And I am confident this strategy can help your dreams become reality like it has for hundreds of other pastors and churches across the United States.

I call this strategy the Ultimate Church Structure.

The Ultimate Church Structure is a three corporation strategy that will allow you to:

1. Increase your church’s impact in your city through a Community Development Corporation (CDC);
2. Increase your church’s resources with a For-Profit Arm; and
3. Protect that which God has given you to lead with a Holdings Corporation.

Let me explain how each of these work.

How the Ultimate Church Structure works for your church

Before I discuss each of the three corporations, you first need to understand that your church will essentially operate as the parent organization. In essence, each of the three corporations is established to benefit your church.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each corporation of this strategy.

1. Community Development Corporation - Extending your church’s reach

A community development corporation (CDC) is a great way to establish programs to meet the needs of your community.

A CDC’s activities can range from youth programs, low-income housing or transitional housing, to leadership training and development, and more.

Where a church may be ineligible for some grants, a CDC without a strictly religious focus may not be. This does not mean that the CDC doesn’t honor God; you are just taking another approach to meeting the community’s needs.

2. For-Profit Arm -  A season for new wine skins

Perhaps you are not familiar with a church being able to own a for-profit arm. However, the concept of a for-profit arm is not new.

Many churches like the Roman Catholic Church and the Mormon Church have been creatively utilizing for-profit arms to their benefit for decades. In addition, we have worked with many churches that have successfully implemented this strategy.

In essence, a for-profit arm is a ministry-owned business that is explicitly established to do business and to make, for the church, tax-free money paid in the form of donations and dividends.

Your church or ministry-owned business can engage in any lawful activity and be open to the general public. The type of business can be anything you want it to be so long as it is a legal business and your ministry feels good about it.

Whether it is real estate investing, commercial leasing, hauling, dry cleaning, a retail store, a convenient store, a car dealership, or a restaurant, your church can own the business by being the majority shareholder.

3. Holdings Corporation - Protecting the dream

In today’s world of ministry, having a strategy to protect the assets of your church is of absolute importance. Each month, hundreds, if not thousands, of churches are finding themselves facing potential litigation.

While this trend continues to worsen, taking preventative measures is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

Fortunately, Congress enacted section 501(c)(2), which exempts from federal income tax “corporations organized for the exclusive purpose of holding title to property, collecting income therefrom, and turning over the entire amount thereof, less expense, to an organization which itself is exempt under this section.”

This provision of the Tax Code is a great benefit to the church in that it allows the church to establish a separate corporation for the sole purpose of holding its assets.

This simply means that if the church is sued, the church’s assets of greatest value are protected, because the church does not own them anymore; the holdings corporation owns them.

Imagine the possibilities

Imagine with me for a moment.

Imagine that you implement this strategy for your church.

Now imagine the freedom you would feel knowing that your church is protected, even if the worst were to happen, all because you established a holdings corporation.

Think how you would feel when you no longer had to worry about a “bad” Sunday morning offering because your church owned a coffee shop that is open 6-days a week.

And lastly, imagine how you would feel when real, tangible change begins to take place in your community because children were no longer going to bed hungry.

I can just see the wheels in your head beginning to turn as you think about the endless possibilities this strategy can give your church.

Go ahead and give us a call today at 877-494-4655 so we can answer your questions and you can begin to implement this strategy with your vision and dreams.

Remember, with God all things are possible!

Recommended blogs for you:

• “How Your Church Can Better Serve Your Community”
• “Can Our Church Own a Business?”
• “How to Protect Your Church Property and Assets”

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