There is a church in my town that has a coffee shop in the lobby.
It’s a big church, with a soaring entrance, and the coffee bar is set up right in the middle, with comfortable tables and couches arranged in groups along the edges of the space.
This is ideal for parishioners to catch up and socialize before and after worship - and get their caffeine fix as well!
It’s a brilliant use of all that space during the week: church staff and groups have a built-in place to meet. Members of the larger community also have a great place to work, study, and socialize - my kids used to do their homework there after school when they were in high school.
It’s also built-in evangelism. It gives people who aren’t members a reason to enter the space. The coffee shop brings people into the church space - which is set up with attractive promotions for the congregation.
There are post cards with service times, and QR codes for signing up for daily spiritual inspiration, etc.
(I’m emphasizing this because it makes me think of all the churches I’ve encountered with sad, dusty entrances, no signs (or any sign at all this is a vibrant community), and no real welcome for visitors).The coffee shop is a separate business (LLC) that pays rent to the church.
The church is benefitting financially - and spiritually, through evangelism to all those who enter their space.
The coffee shop is benefitting from all the customers the church brings them - plus a cool location.
In fact, the coffee shop is so successful that it has opened several other branches throughout the community.
And even though the coffee shop is its own business, they gladly promote the church, host their small groups and special events in their locations, and share their post cards and sign ups.
Many of us think that church must be a non-profit.
After all, we’re not in business primarily to make money.
But it’s also true that we must be able to sustain our ministry in an era where ‘stewardship’ and pledging are no longer supporting budgets.
There’s no rule that says that churches themselves cannot be LLC’s (limited liability companies). In fact, some of them are!
The real opportunity in today’s world is using the model of LLC/non-profit partnership (like this coffee shop) for other ministry-related businesses: spiritual direction, teaching, blogging, podcast, music, art, etc. Either in-person or online.
LLC/Non-profit partnerships support innovative - ‘Cage Free’ - ministry, as well as traditional congregations.
⚖️ Nonprofit or LLC for Ministry?
🏛 Nonprofit (501(c)(3) Religious Organization)
Pros
✅ Tax-exempt: No federal income tax; donors get tax-deduction benefits.
✅ Legitimacy & trust: Seen as the “normal” structure for churches; aligns with IRS/denominational expectations.
✅ Grant eligibility: Can receive church and foundation grants.
✅ Longevity & succession: Built for institutional continuity beyond the founder.
✅ Clear governance: Boards, bylaws, and oversight can build credibility.
Cons
❌ Less agile: Required bylaws, boards, annual filings, and IRS rules.
❌ Founder control diluted: Must answer to a board; harder to pivot quickly.
❌ Regulatory oversight: Bound by lobbying/advocacy limits and other IRS restrictions.
❌ Startup friction: IRS 1023 application process can be time-consuming and costly.
❌ Cultural baggage: Feels “institutional,” which can be off-putting if your ministry is explicitly about doing church differently.
💼 LLC (Limited Liability Company)
Pros
✅ Agility & control: You make the rules; no board unless you want one.
✅ Simplicity: Easy setup, flexible governance, minimal reporting.
✅ Entrepreneurial freedom: Can mix ministry with services, coaching, products, digital offerings.
✅ Multiple revenue streams: No IRS restrictions on how money is earned (e.g. retreats, subscriptions, books, speaking, digital products).
✅ Transparency to participants: People know they’re supporting you and your work, not “the institution.”
Cons
❌ Not tax-exempt: Income is taxable; donors don’t get deductions.
❌ Limited grants: Can’t receive charitable grants or many foundation funds.
❌ Perception: Some may see “LLC church” as too commercial or unorthodox.
❌ Succession issues: Harder to hand off to another leader or sustain after the founder.
❌ No automatic religious recognition: You don’t get the same legal assumptions of being a “church” (e.g., housing allowances, special clergy benefits).
🌀 Cage Free/ Creative Approaches
Innovative ministries experiment with dual structures:
Nonprofit + LLC: One organization has two different entities. Nonprofit covers worship/charity side; LLC handles consulting, media, or entrepreneurial arms.
Entrepreneurial ministry + traditional congregation: LLC and non-profit partnerships. Example: Coffee shop operates out of church building - each promotes each other. Podcast promotes church membership, church uses podcast as formation for members.
Fiscal sponsorship: An alternative ministry “borrows” the nonprofit status of another org for donations, while operating as an LLC day-to-day.
Unincorporated house church: A group gathers informally as “church,” while the leader sustains themselves via an LLC.
📌 For Cage Free Ministries (like Free Range Priest)
LLC works best if your model is more entrepreneurial, coaching-oriented, or digital-first.
Keeps you agile, allows multiple income streams, and matches your ethos of “new ways of being in ministry.”
📌 For New Church Plants
Nonprofit works best if you’re building a congregation that wants tax-deductible donations, denominational support, property, or long-term succession.
But some pioneering communities begin as LLCs or unincorporated groups, then convert to nonprofit once they grow.
👉 Bottom line:
If your ministry = innovation, coaching, media, personal entrepreneurship → LLC makes sense.
If your ministry = gathering a traditional church community with tithes, property, and long-term governance → Nonprofit makes sense.
For Cage Free Ministries, a dual structure opens sustainable, abundant opportunities.
At Free Range Priest, we’re reimagining ministry in the digital age.
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Hi Kathie - ooo you hit my sore spot on this. I don’t see anything useful in what seems very dumbed-down. People surely would not come if they felt unwelcome. We agree on this, but the solution is, I believe, to make the worship a richer, more connected to the spiritual life we seek. The Episcopal Church has a very rich history of worship to draw from. If what we do is compete with coffee shops and Star Search tv shows, we lose the chance to be a Christian presence and source of the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit. No other institution carries this singular message. I believe there is currently a move away from pop-based worship to historically informed worship. We benefit from showing the culture that it can be a part of liturgical worship.
Not sure I'm clear on "spiritual business" ? (I hit the keys wrong, so this is a second comment.)