What would the Shark Tank say about my new church?

I usually blog about current events and topics that are interesting to me. I want to blog about something a little more personal today. I want to write about a church that I Pastor that we started January 1st, 2014. It is called The Path to the Cross Church and we are located in Northwest Houston.


I really like the show Shark Tank. If you have never seen it the premise is pretty simple. Entrepreneurs come on the show and present their businesses and ideas to a group of multi-millionaire/billionaires. The "sharks" can be gracious if the business idea has real potential and the presentation is well done. If not, they can be brutal. It can also become contentious if several sharks begin to bid on the same business.


I have become really intrigued in recent months because for the first time in my life I am an entrepreneur. My wife and I decided to start a new church in late October 2013. Armed with a dream and a handful of potential members, we launched a faith based business.


We had no real business plan. What we had was 35 years experience in ministry on my part and 30 years of accounting and business experience from my wife. We had no money in the church account and no members. In a way it was crazy. It has been the best crazy thing we have ever done.


We began meeting in our home. A dozen people became fifteen people and soon we outgrew our home. That is when miracle number one happened. My wife's boss offered for us to use his facility. ABC Home and Commercial Services is a high profile business on the Sam Houston Parkway. It has a huge meeting room, smaller rooms for small group studies, and a kitchen for our fellowships. It is easy to find and parking is very convenient.


On the first Sunday we had 30 people. By the first week in March, we had 59 people attend on a Sunday morning. How have they come? Word of mouth, Face Book, LinkedIn, a podcast, and signage have led people our way. The church is growing and offerings are growing as well.


The other night I wondered to myself...what would happen if I went on Shark Tank and asked these men and women to support our church financially? What would I say in my presentation? What would their questions be? How would I explain some of the things that have happened that could have only occurred by divine intervention?


The truth is that The Path is an entrepreneurial enterprise. It is also a church. We should do our best to follow the very best business principles that we can. We should also.  remember that not everything about a church fits on a balance sheet. Their are resources and provision that just cannot be explained.