Starting a new organization is a risky business. Most startups fail; half of them do not reach the five-year mark. Protestant churches are not immune to these trends. Most new churches are not established with denominational support—many are actually nondenominational—and, therefore, have many of the vulnerabilities other infant organizations must overcome. Research has revealed that millions of Americans are leaving churches, half of all churches do not add any new members, and thousands of churches shutter their doors each year. These numbers suggest that American religion is not a growth industry. Yet, more than 1,000 new churches are started in any given year. What are the forces that move people who might otherwise be satisfied working for churches to the riskier role of starting one as a religion entrepreneur? In Church Planters, sociologist Richard Pitt uses more than 125 in-depth interviews with church planters to understand their motivations. First he uncovers themes in their sometimes miraculous, sometimes mundane answers to the question “Why take on these risks?” Then he examines how they approach three common entrepreneurial challenges—recognizing opportunities, marshaling resources, and framing success—in ways that reduce uncertainty and lead them to believe they will be successful. The book combines their evocative stories with insights from research on commercial and social entrepreneurship to explain how these religion entrepreneurs come to believe that their organizational goals must be accomplished, that those goals are capable of being accomplished, and that they would accomplish those goals over time.
Risky Business: How Humans Will Shape Floodplain Landscapes Over the 21st Century
