Social Enterprise - A Fresh Expression for Church

Social enterprise has long been home to innovation, often driven by necessity, the gender free parent of all invention. The recent pandemic has catapulted the church into a 'what now' moment. Yet hope springs eternal, and for some, the church is once again becoming more than a place of worship due to great leadership and novel ideas.

Some of these novel ideas begin life as a question, and here at Beyond Giving we are hearing these kind of questions more and more:

“How do we get young people to come to church?!?”

“Our financial model as a congregation is changing. Traditional member giving alone isn’t going to be enough to sustain us anymore. Are there new economic models we can consider?”

“Fewer people are attending worship on Sundays. What does ‘church’ look like outside of Sunday morning worship?” 

“The legacy of racial and economic injustice in our community is overwhelming. How can we join in efforts to address injustice and meet the needs in our community?”

“We haven’t been holding worship in our building throughout much of the pandemic. What is our building even for?”

“How can we be relevant in the Climate Crisis Conversation, and how can we be effective in supporting change in the ecosphere”

So the challenge falls into two main categories

1. Individuals and communities are longing for different expressions of lived faith that move beyond the traditional programs of churches. Traditional church programs are often no longer engaging people nor helping people engage the world. We are facing serious crises such as climate change, racial injustice, drug addiction, income inequality, and more. How are we going to tackle these issues with innovative solutions through new expressions of the church in the world? 

2. Churches and church-related institutions are struggling with an economic model that is increasingly coming up short in funding mission, especially the kind of mission that addresses the problems we want to solve. Member giving from the offering plate alone is not enough for many churches to sustain their ministry. How will we generate new, sustainable forms of revenue to support mission?

At Beyond Giving we are working to help you answer some of these questions and explore the way ahead. Feel free to get in touch.