Counting the Cost for Churches in the Business of Creativity

This guest blog is by Stephen Brewster. It is the second of a two-part series on Church in the Business of Creativity. Stephen is the Creative Arts Pastor at Cross Point Community Church.. Passionate about creativity, leadership, church and how those live together. Dad and husband. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @b_rewster.

If as the church we are going to take our proper position as creative influencers instead of creative imitators, there are some practical things that have to happen beyond just great ideas and creativity.

1) Counting the cost
As churches begin to create the opportunity for business, development occurs. There are a few foundational blocks that must be established in order to protect success. The primary block is staying on vision. New business should not take us off task. As opportunities arise, they need to fit into the work flow that proceeded them. In simple terms, you have to dance with who brought you. Our vision and mission birthed the creative elements that may be transitioning to commerce. We created them to help us meet our vision and mission. We should never take the bait of feeding our tools and mistaking them as vision. Mission and vision first…everything flows out of vision. Another block we need to remember is that just because we are good at doing church or ministry, doesn’t automatically mean we’ll be good at business. Seek consultants and advice. Hire people who can run the business or get into relationships with people who will help facilitate. Our job is to stay on vision and stay creative. Further, we have to surround ourselves with the right team. Legal, business, management, and other creatives who share the same passion to create on mission art.

2) What core values and structure should be considered in the initiation of a creative business?
As we have said, VISION FIRST. Any creative endeavor that gains success does so because they refused to be safe. Risk, when calculated, creates the opportunity for reward. As Christians, we should understand the concept of Audacious Faith and that we need it in business as much as we do in ministry. Another important core value for people involved in creative business is believing in what you create more than anyone else. If we don’t believe in it…why would others? We should want to do this regardless of if it was a business or not.  Finally, fall in love with the mission, not the method. Things change – and they change rapidly – in business. Just because it works today doesn’t mean it’s going to be working tomorrow. Stay flexible and hustle hard. Adding business is going to require a lot of really hard work. It’s going to be fun work and it’s going to change the world, but it’s not going to be easy. A twitter account, Facebook, website and business card do not make a business.

3) What do churches in the business of creativity offer creatives that music or media companies cannot?
Music or Media companies are service companies. So often, people confuse partnerships with these entities as a finish line when the reality is that these new relationships are just mile markers. These companies should never be setting the pace for our business, but rather we should be pushing them to help us achieve the goal and mission that got their attention in the first place. The day one of these companies cares more about our ministry than we do…it is time to close shop. We should do what we are called to do and if partnering with others can help us expand the vision then it starts to make sense to get into these relationships.

4) What are some pitfalls to avoid?
Selling out is the first one. Again, mission and vision drive the ship. We can’t compromise these for business. Imitation is another pitfall. We are called to be uniquely us, so don’t sell that short by trying to be someone else in our field who is already successful. Hillsong, Elevation, and Jesus Culture are great…but we don’t need another of any of them…we already have them. Be uniquely us so we can be our absolute best and bring another voice to the conversation. Finally, it’s very important that we partner with the right people. We must protect what we are called to execute.

Have you considered starting a creative business?

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Posted by Susan Fontaine Godwin on Jan 20 2012. Filed under Basics for Churches, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry