Author: Patrick
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Contextualize Your Church
Part 2 in the 7-part series, Open a Church Checking Account Why Contextualize Your Church? Believe it or not, the effort to contextualize your church is part of the critical path to open a church checking account. And you should do it anyway because the Church should always be renewing itself and adapting to the […]
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Open a Church Checking Account
To open a church checking account for your new plant, you’ll need to have some paperwork in place before you show up at the bank. Here’s the basic flow of what you’ll need to do or file to be legit in the bank’s eyes: Over the coming weeks, I’ll be expanding on each of these. […]
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When Exactly is My Church Plant 501c3 Tax Exempt? How to Know
Many planters want to know – when is my church plant 501c3 tax exempt? The answer is ‘both now & later’. Let me explain: What’s the Problem? As a sort of separation of church and state, the IRS has taken an arm’s length approach to churches’ tax matters. So they grant churches an automatic 501c3 tax exemption. No problem […]
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How to Get Faster 501c3 Application Processing
The IRS is 9 months behind (as of 2014) 4-6 months behind (as of 2017) 9 months behind (as of 2023) in processing a new 501c3 application. Seriously. Oh, they’ll cash your ($850 through 2017) $600 application check (as of 2018) on the first day they get your packet, but then you go into a big […]
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How to Apply for Your Church Plant 501c3
You know that your new church plant falls under the IRS’ blanket 501c3 exemption, but you’ve run into several situations where you really need the 501c3 Determination Letter in writing. Or maybe you’re just planning ahead and see the long-term advantages to sending in the application now, before your Grand Opening. What’s the Problem? The […]
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Church Plant Freebie Friday: Amazon Smile
Amazon is donating money to non-profit organizations when shoppers register through Amazon Smile. Once the regulars at your church plant register, ½% of all their (qualified) purchases automatically come to your church. Or better yet, get all of your regulars to register for the nonprofit in town that your church partners with. Do it as […]
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Shutting Down Church Plants
It is always a sad day when you have to go about shutting down a church plant. While there are some paperwork and technical details involved, the primary role and responsibility of the leadership during this time is to care for the people in the congregation. As I’ve had to learn through this process, here […]
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Church Plant Dissolution Clause
If you want to set up your new church for official IRS 501c3 nonprofit recognition, know they’ll be looking for your church plant dissolution clause. What’s the Problem? Anything donated to a church is to be used for its nonprofit purposes. The IRS gets pretty picky about donations being ‘laundered’ through a nonprofit that is […]
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Community Networking for Your Church Plant
As a church planter, you are a missionary to your community. And part of the work of every missionary is understanding the culture they serve. Community networking is one of the best ways to experience the culture. Demographic reports and community history websites are one of the best places to start, especially if you haven’t […]