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Frequently Asked Questions:
Please read this page before contacting us, but if you have any questions after reading this page you may call, e-mail, or write us for further information.
Q: Is this legal?
A: Yes, in fact most churches in America are started in homes. It is unconstitutional for any municipality to use zoning restrictions, etc. to prevent someone from starting a church. If your neighbor can have 20 cars parked in front of his house for a party, you can have church at yours. Your neighbor’s party is not Constitutionally protected like a church is. If you have any trouble call the numbers on our ”Legal Defense” page.
Q: How many people do we need to start a church?
A: Our Lord said, “...where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). One family or even one individual can start a church. If you can find two or three families so much the better, but you don’t have to have a specific number. If you want a church in your area you can have one. All you have to do is follow our step-by-step instructions.
Q: What do I need to start a new church?
A: We provide most everything to get your church started except people. We give you a turn key, step-by-step program that will result in you getting a church in your area. You will need a computer and a printer, but if you are reading this you probably have those. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is a free download from www.adobe.com (be sure to uncheck the googlebar option before downloading) and a Media Player which is also free (Microsoft Media Player comes with the Windows Operating System). You will need to open your home up for a weekly or twice weekly Bible Study, and it would be good to serve refreshments. Refreshments can be something simple like donuts and coffee, or soda and chips. If you would like to meet somewhere other than your home you will need to secure that first, but if you follow the plan and you will succeed either way. Our church planting manual will suggest other locations you may be able to use cheaply or free. You will want to find a new place to use when you group get to around 30 or 40 attendees.
Some things you won’t need, but would be helpful are a large screen TV or LCD DVD Projector and an Internet connection, preferably high-speed. We can help you get an inexpensive LCD Projector if you wish to use one. We can also assist you in acquiring inexpensive computers. You won’t need these two things though, we send you the materials you need on CDs and DVDs, you can watch the DVDs on your home computer or DVD player. Later on you might want a laser printer to save you trips to the copy center. You can add audiovisual equipment as your church grows. In a home church environment there won’t be need for a PA system and video equipment; even on a small computer monitor the video sermons will still be visible in a small crowd.
Q: What is the difference between watching sermons on DVD and listening to a sermon on the radio or watching one on TV?
A: A radio or TV preacher isn’t interested in helping you start a church. It’s really hard to find one that even preaches a Biblical message these days, most of them are snake oil salesmen looking to build a money temple to themselves. They aren’t praying for your home church and we offer a host of other services other that just supplying good preaching DVDs. A church is more than a place to go on Sunday morning to hear a sermon, a church is a place you go to fellowship with other believers. If you wanted to watch a sermon on TV you wouldn’t need to start a church. A church is a family. Someone is there to pray for you when you need them. A church can support missions and support one another in carrying the gospel to your community. The purpose of our ministry is not to help you get by without a church, but to establish one in your community.
Q: Is my home Bible study a church?
A: A church is a “called out assembly of believers” with a Biblical church structure and authority. So really you aren’t a church until you get a Pastor and charter yourselves. There may be some who will criticize your home Bible studies because they will say you are not a legitimate church. You may not be in the beginning, but there is nothing unBiblical about a home Bible study. They were mentioned throughout the Book of Acts. We recommend telling people who meet with you, whether in you home or elsewhere, that you are planning to start a church. Explain that you want to start a church in your area, and we are helping you to do that. Until then you are conducting your Bibles studies like a church with a remote pastor. Someone might say, “that can’t be Biblical, there’s no remote pastors in the Bible.” To that we would say the technology was not there in Biblical times. J. Frank Norris pastored one church in Detroit and one in Dallas at the same time. That’s remote pastoring, and we are not going to expect you to maintain this relationship beyond the initial stages of organization. We are not talking about remote churches, but remote pastoring or surrogate pastoring during the interim. You may remain in the planting stage as long as you wish, when you are ready we will recommend someone to you who will be willing to come to your area and pastor your church. There were many home Bible studies in the early New Testament church. Paul had a great burden to organize them into churches (e.g., Romans 1:11). He remote pastored many home Bible study groups. Later he did go to them and organized them into churches, and left them a man to pastor (Titus 1:5) their home church.
Some people won’t like this method of church planting because it is different and nontraditional. They are just like the church member who doesn’t want to follow the Pastor because, “it’s never been done that way before.” Church planting is something that needs to be done by those that have the truth, no matter how we do it. Unless we replenish the erosion of Bible believing churches in America, our nation will never return to God. Luke 14:23 says, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” If you read the context around that verse you will see that our Lord said that because, He sent His servant out and bade many (vs. 16), and each made excuses why they could not come. Like church people make excuses why we can’t plant churches. Then the Master commanded the servant to go out and invite the common people in the highways and hedges (streets and neighborhoods). That word “compel” means to necessitate or constrain, to persuade at any cost in other words.
Q: Are you part of the home church movement?
A: Let me make it clear that we are not part of the “home church movement.” We are a means to an end, not the end of the means. The home churches in the New Testament were baby churches. We would never suggest an established church today revert to home church status or that the home church is a substitute for conventional churches. The problem with a lot of house church ministries is there is no structure and authority, no single Pastor overseeing them. We do not believe multiple elders is Biblical. It is clear from the Apostle Paul’s letters that the pastor is the overseer of the church (Hebrews 13:7;17). Bishop means “overseer.” We merely vicariously provide you with that leadership until you are able to call a pastor and form an independent church. We expect these home churches to mature into conventional New Testament churches as they are able.
Many home churches are started by disgruntled former church members who are holding a grudge against someone in authority in a conventional church. They excuse their bitterness toward churches and their running from God by substituting their home “church” for a real church. That is not what we are about. We are helping people start churches and bringing them to maturity so they can organize into a conventional church. Not necessarily a denominational church, but a New Testament church.
Q: Do I need bulletins for my services?
A: No, You can make a prayer list or announcement flyer if you like, but bulletins are not necessary. That is not to say that you shouldn’t create a bulletin if you have the resources and time to do so. The more you do to make your Bible study seem like a real church, the less of a transition you will have when the church starts meeting on it’s own property.
Q: Do I need a bank account to start a home church?
A: Not initially, but as soon as you can you should appoint someone as treasurer and open an account with a bank that requires two signatures to write checks. One of the most important responsibilities of starting your new church will be the proper handling of money. Many banks offer free business checking, but even if you have to pay a small monthly fee it will be worth it to have a way to separate church funds. You don’t need business checks, just an account in the church’s name. Until then you may keep the church funds locked in a drawer or filing cabinet, but you should establish a checking account in the churches name as soon as possible. Don’t ever put church funds in someone’s personal account. For accountability you can publish a monthly financial report (statement) showing receipts and disbursements for the month. Keep a hard copy for your church records. As part of our services we provide you with our Church Accounting System manual FREE that goes into great detail how church funds should be kept and managed.
Having a church checking account does two things, it establishes a relationship with a bank and it gives your church a little credibility. I already stated this, but I will repeat it again for emphasis, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER mix church funds with anyone’s personal funds for any reason no matter how nobel it may seem at the time. There are reasons for this beyond the accountability issues. Your church is non-taxable, but you are not. If you put church funds in your account or vise versa you may be required to claim the church income on your personal tax return. It’s also a wide open opportunity for satan to tarnish the testimony of your church by falsely accusing you of mishandling the churches money. Don’t let your good be evil spoken of. Live above reproach especially where money is concerned.
Don’t use your social security number or a church member’s number to open the checking account. It is very easy to get a Employer Identification Number (EIN), which is a federal identification number for your checking account. Acquiring this number doesn’t mean you have employees, or plan to. It doesn’t mean you are incorporated or under the control of the government. It’s just a number that makes your church a separate entity from you or any member of your church. You can obtain one of these free online in a few minutes by going to the IRS’s web site. Go to www.irs.gov and do a search for “SS-4 online application.”
Q: Do I even need to take any offerings when I start my church?
A: Yes, even in the beginning you will have some expenses which may include, refreshments, printing, mailings, benevolence, guest speakers, audio-video equipment, and other incidentals. Even if your expenses are minimal at first and you feel like you can absorb them yourself, you will need to begin accumulating money for future expenses. Building a church, hiring a pastor, purchasing a van, hymnals, church furniture, and other expenses that will arise after you get a more permanent place to meet and call a pastor.
Q: Must I incorporate my church?
A: If you want to be incorporated we can help you through the process in your state, but it is not necessary. Some believe it is more Biblical not to be incorporated. The state doesn’t care one way or the other. You should have some articles of faith, by-laws and a constitution whether you incorporate or not to protect your church from legal action. We will help you to prepare these documents. This is something that you will not need to do until you are ready to go from home Bible study to a complete church, and something you should discuss with your pastor before you call him. Just like in a marriage, you should ask your prospective pastor questions to be sure you are compatible before committing to a lifetime relationship. That’s what it should be, pray and be sure you have peace about calling a pastor before you call him. If a year or two later you decide you don’t like him, you have no more right to try to get him to leave than a spouse does if they don’t get along well with their counterpart. God’s gifts and callings are without repentance according to the Scripture (Romans 11:29). We will help you in this process, but in the end you will have to make the decision. Choose well. If a man goes into sin or you discover something about him that he has concealed, that is another matter. We can advise you in handling this type of thing too if it should occur. Although you may choose to pick your own pastor rather than have us assist you, anyone we recommend, we will do our best to screen before recommending them to you.
Q: Do I need to file for 501 (3) C (tax exempt) status with the IRS?
A: No, churches are automatically considered tax exempt by the IRS without filing anything. The only time you may be required to file something with the IRS is if the church hires employees. Apart from that the church files no income tax returns, doesn’t report anything to the IRS, and really has no interaction with them. We can provide your church with tax advice after it is organized, as well as for your future pastor, to be sure you are handling his funds responsibly, saving him money on his taxes and complying with code. State sales tax is a different matter. If you want exemption from state sales tax you will have to file a state sales tax exemption application with the Secretary of State in your State. You will need the Employer Identification Number mentioned above, which you obtain by filing form SS-4 with the IRS. We can assist you with this also. Call us if you have any questions.
Q: What if I disagree with a sermon or Bible study in the program?
A: We are not going to deliberately mislead anyone. What we are teaching and preaching is the same thing all preachers preached when our country was founded. Over the years though many different philosophies and compromises have crept into our churches. So if you hear something you think strange or is contrary to what you have been taught try not to be taken back by it. Discuss it with your group. Look into the Scriptures as a group and see if it could possibly be right. If you still disagree then you have strengthened your position and are not harmed by it. All we ask is that you approach the Bible teaching with an open mind. We don’t expect everyone who uses our material to agree with everything we say. We don’t agree with everything anyone says. We are just trying to be true to the Word of God, and trust you too will elevate God’s word over the traditions of man. It’s like eating a bowl of cherries, when you get a bad one you throw it out and keep eating the good. Hopefully you won’t find any bad cherries in our bowl. We always welcome feedback on our Bible teaching. There are no Bible scholars, we are all Bible students. If we get to the place that we are no longer teachable, we stop learning.
Q: What if someone needs counseling?
A: Many times we can recommend someone in your area who can assist you or your members this way. If not we have professionals who can assist you by phone or online. Just let us know the nature of your problem and we will do whatever we can to help you resolve it.
Q: What if a problem arises?
A: If you experience problems legally, spiritually, or otherwise we will be here for you. We have experience at planting churches and we’ve probably dealt with whatever you will experience.
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