The church has long been built on a system of tithing. People in the congregations give to the institution. These gifts pay for the lights and heat, for the pastor’s salary, for the curriculum for Sunday School, for programs with our neighbors, and more. This model of income generation is slowly dying. While those who are in their 20’s and 30’s are actually the most generous generation in US History, they don’t give to traditional institutions in the same way as prior generations did.
So what do those of us who love the church and see the need for churches in the future do? We begin to imagine a new way of generating the resources needed for the ministry.
This might mean mission based entrepreneurial businesses, B corps, or nonprofit enterprises that can carry on the ministry values while providing services to the community. It also means streamlining the church and reducing costs of some the of traditional things we have done. This may look like meeting in coffee shops or houses instead of large buildings. It might mean bi-vocational clergy and fewer staff.
We at the Parish are always thinking about how God is calling us to be present in our neighborhoods for the long term and what we can do now to create healthy, sustainable models of ministry. Steele Street School is part of that equation as is a new coffee cart idea we are pursuing with the help of some passionate laity.
The future will be different than what has been and it is up to us as the church to navigate this new way of being community and serving our neighbors as we tend to our own spiritual health and growth.
-Eilidh
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