“Time, Talents, and Treasure”

Abstract

As sociologists Howard Aldrich and Martin Ruef explain, “Most nascent entrepreneurs begin with almost nothing but their intentions. Few have access to capital and most cannot afford employees.” In church planting circles, it is often joked that “all a new church needs is a guitar and a microphone.” In many ways, they are right. Overhead costs of a new church are quite low. Much of the labor involved—praying, preaching, and “pastoring”—can be carried out by the founder him- or herself. That said, long-term and sustainable religion entrepreneurship, like other forms of entrepreneurship, requires resources. The biggest challenge for new and continuing enterprises is determining how to get people to support the organization through contributions of “time, talent, and treasure.” In this chapter, we explore the ways church founders generate and utilize two important assets—human and financial resources—necessary to build and maintain new congregations.