Books

Christian Leadership Training Course

By J.C. Choate

Lesson 16

Building a Self-Supporting Church

Most young men who want to preach will readily tell you that they desire to be a full time preacher. They don’t seem to have any interest in part-time preaching, doing secular work to make a living and then preaching on the weekends, holidays, and on different nights through the week. I know that I have talked to many and have given them this advice, but they usually come back with this answer: “Yes, but I want to give my full time to preaching”. Now what does this statement say? Simply that they want a full time salary. But they surely know that the church in their area is still young, that Christians are few in number and are unable in most cases to pay a preacher a full-time salary. This means that they must turn to some foreign source for their full-time support. What will many of them do once they make this connection? They will receive a full-time salary, and that is about all it will amount to. Neither they nor the church in most cases will be benefitted by this arrangement.

As a young preacher, if you are really converted to the Lord, and if you are sincerely dedicated to Him and to preaching His word, take one step at a time. There is a lot more to being a preacher than just deciding to preach, more than just having the desire to be a full time preacher. First of all, get some training. Get your education at home, and some college education if possible. Then while you are doing this, read and study your Bible. Find other books that will help you with your study. If you are a member of a local congregation, participate in all of the activities. If there is a preacher training school in the area, maybe you can arrange to go for a year or two.

While you are at home, preach at every opportunity you may have. If the church cannot support you, and you want to go out on your own, marry, and have a family, then get yourself a secular job. While you are working for a living, you can also work for the Lord. The Apostle Paul did this (Acts 18:3), working with his own hands to make his living (1 Corinthians 4:12). But that didn’t stop him from preaching, did it? And neither will it stop you from preaching, if you really want to preach God’s word. As a matter of fact, if you are really determined to preach, you will find a way to do that.

Learn to work with others. Don’t count other preachers as your enemies, as your competitors. Even if they don’t treat you the same way, you should have the proper attitude toward them.

Maybe you can work with a local congregation, or go out to another area, start a work, and stay with it, help it to grow, and finally help that congregation to reach the point of being able to give you full support. As you are doing this, don’t become the big boss, or do all of the preaching, teaching, praying, singing, etc., yourself, but work with the congregation in such a way as to encourage the members to grow themselves in their abilities. If you will respect them, and build in them respect for you because of your honesty, sincerity, and your willingness to work, then they will surely grow in every way and will soon reach the point where they can support you. After this happens, don’t feel puffed up and big or important, but be yourself, humble, having love for your brethren, and a desire to reach the lost around you with the gospel.

If you really want to do something great for the Lord, then build a self-supporting congregation. This will be a real test for you. It will be a great example for other preachers and congregations. Really what the church in this whole part of the world needs is to become independent, self-supporting churches; to have elders and deacons, to support their own preachers and to take care of their own needs, to prove to themselves that they are capable, to be able to stand on their own, independent from outside help. This would be reassuring to all, to show what is possible.

So many brethren up to this point have been so prone to look to others for help that they fail to be concerned about their own development. They still have their hand out, even though in many cases they should be taking care of their own needs. How many families within a congregation are self-supporting? They may not be rich, or have large salaries in every case, but still they earn enough to provide for their own needs. Now if this be true, why can’t the members in that congregation give enough to take care of the church’s needs? It is not that one family must do this alone, but with several families giving 10 or 12 percent of their income to God, they can support their own preacher. When they achieve this independence, they would never want to be dependent on others again.

Now once there are some self-supporting churches scattered around, others are encouraged to follow their example. Furthermore, as congregations become self-supporting many other things begin to take place. They can consider growing to the point of sending their own missionaries out. They are now able to help with preacher training schools. And some day there may be enough Christians in the area for them to band together and establish their own Christian college, to support their own orphans’ home, and other such good works.

Again, what can you do as a preacher? Teach the church the importance of growing in numbers, but also help Christians to grow spiritually, in their giving, and in their vision. Don’t sit with them and drain them of everything they have. Don’t be negative, lazy, with no initiative or goals. Get up and go to work and help the church to become independent, being determined to be fully supported yourself by your own local brethren. That is a worthy goal to work for and a great day to celebrate when it happens. With God’s help it can become a reality.