Browse Ministry Playbooks
Filter by ministry type or church size to find the playbook that fits your context
Learn how these playbooks work →22 playbooks match your filters
Economic & Vocational Development
Business Incubation • Tool Libraries • Micro-Loans
Partner with workforce boards and CDFIs to create job training pipelines, tool lending libraries, and micro-loan funds. Turn your fellowship hall into a co-working space.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Church of the Messiah (Detroit) — Business incubator
- ✓ Sample budget: $3K–$7K
- ✓ 90-day plan: Launch micro-grant night
Affordable Housing Navigation
Housing Vouchers • Eviction Prevention • Legal Aid
Help families access safe, affordable housing through vouchers and legal aid. Host quarterly housing navigation clinics with pro bono attorneys.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Quarterly clinic (Memphis) — 30 families/quarter
- ✓ Sample budget: $3K–$8K
- ✓ 90-day plan: Host first clinic
Health & Wellness Mobile Clinics
Blood Pressure Screenings • Dental Vans • Medicaid Enrollment
Bring preventive care into underserved areas via mobile clinics. Host quarterly health fairs serving 200+ uninsured neighbors.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Quarterly fair (Baltimore) — 200 neighbors served
- ✓ Sample budget: $2K–$10K
- ✓ 90-day plan: Secure partners, host event
Financial Literacy & Banking
Credit Repair • Savings Accounts • VITA Tax Prep
Build savings, repair credit, and access banking via credit unions and VITA. Host 8-week Financial Peace University cohorts.
What's Inside:
- ✓ 8-week cohort (Detroit) — 40% increase in savings
- ✓ Sample budget: $1K–$5K
- ✓ 90-day plan: Deliver classes
Education & K-12 Tutoring
After-School Tutoring • Summer Literacy • STEM Clubs
Provide academic support for struggling students. Launch summer literacy camps preventing learning loss for 50+ kids.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Summer camp (Atlanta) — 50 kids served
- ✓ Sample budget: $4K–$12K
- ✓ 90-day plan: Partner with schools
Legal Aid & Immigration Services
Expungement • Debt Defense • Immigration Clinics
Help neighbors navigate evictions, debt, and immigration via pro bono lawyers. Monthly legal clinics serve 30+ families per quarter.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Monthly clinic (Philadelphia) — 30 families/quarter
- ✓ Sample budget: $0–$2K
- ✓ 90-day plan: Find legal partners
Mental Health Support Groups
Counseling Days • Support Groups • Crisis Intervention
Provide accessible mental health care via counseling centers. Launch weekly support groups and quarterly counseling days with licensed therapists.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Weekly grief groups — Crisis intervention
- ✓ Sample budget: $3K–$8K
- ✓ 90-day plan: Secure counselors
Fitness & Movement Ministries
Gospel Aerobics • Walking Clubs • Chair Fitness
Launch chronic disease prevention programs through Gospel aerobics, neighborhood walking clubs, and chair fitness classes for seniors.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Ebenezer "Temple Builders" — Reduced insulin/BP meds
- ✓ Sample budget: $650–$2,350/year
- ✓ 90-day plan: Launch Saturday Gospel Walk
Medical Equipment Lending Closet
Walkers • Wheelchairs • Shower Chairs
Offer free loans of walkers, wheelchairs, and shower chairs to prevent falls and hospital readmissions. Asset-light circular economy model.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Grace "Library of Healing" — Prevents $30K fall costs
- ✓ Sample budget: $450–$700/year
- ✓ 90-day plan: Collect 10 items, create loan system
Special Needs Respite Care
Monthly 3-4 Hour Respite
Provide monthly respite care nights for caregivers of special needs children. Prevent caregiver burnout and preserve household income.
What's Inside:
- ✓ St. Paul's "SEEN Ministry" — 3rd Tuesday nights
- ✓ Sample budget: $5,050/year
- ✓ 90-day plan: Train volunteers, host first night
Grief & Recovery Support Groups
GriefShare • Celebrate Recovery • 12-Step
Launch free 12-week GriefShare or Celebrate Recovery circles to prevent job loss from untreated trauma, addiction, and grief.
What's Inside:
- ✓ St. Pauls Community — 3 men regained employment
- ✓ Sample budget: $1,100–$1,600/year
- ✓ 90-day plan: Train 2 facilitators
Safe Passage & Violence Interruption
Walking School Bus • Corner Watchers
Deploy Walking School Bus routes and corner watchers to reduce violence and protect school attendance. Create jobs via Community Violence Intervention grants.
What's Inside:
- ✓ New Life Covenant (Chicago) — CPS Safe Passage vendors
- ✓ Sample budget: $3,300/year volunteer OR $50K–$250K funded
- ✓ 90-day plan: Map safe routes, recruit 5 watchers
GED & ESL Workforce Bridge
GED Prep • ESL Classes • Workforce Bridge
Offer free GED/ESL classes led by retired educators to unlock $300K+ lifetime earnings gain per graduate.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Mt. Pisgah AME (Philadelphia) — Retired educators lead program
- ✓ Sample budget: $3,600/year
- ✓ 90-day plan: Recruit 2 retired teachers
School Adoption & Teacher Support
Teacher Lunches • Uniform Closets • Hygiene Kits
Adopt a local school with teacher appreciation luncheons, uniform closets, and hygiene kits. Property value stabilization tool.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Allen AME Baltimore × James McHenry Elementary
- ✓ Sample budget: $5,600/year
- ✓ 90-day plan: Meet principal, host teacher luncheon
Restorative Justice Circles
Diversion Programs • Youth Offenses
Facilitate restorative justice circles and diversion programs for youth offenses to prevent criminal records. Upstream intervention.
What's Inside:
- ✓ Grace UMC & New Waverly UMC — Peace with Justice grants
- ✓ Sample budget: $1,100–$2,500/year
- ✓ 90-day plan: Train 3 Circle Keepers
Mental Health Access Channel
For Denominational Leaders
Channel corporate therapy seats and wellness tools to clergy and congregants without depleting church budgets. Your network becomes the access point.
$45K Value
channeled Year 1
18 Churches
Revenue model: $3.75–$7.50/member/month
What's Inside:
- ✓ $45K Value channeled Year 1 — 18 Churches
- ✓ Revenue model: $3.75–$7.50/member/month
- ✓ 90-day pilot: Secure 1 partner, onboard 5 churches
Education & Economic Mobility Channel
For Denominational Leaders
Unlock state ESAs and youth entrepreneurship funding for church families. Your network becomes the certified vendor and navigator.
$110K Public
funds flowing Year 1
22 Families
Revenue model: $75–$150/family/month
What's Inside:
- ✓ $110K Public funds flowing Year 1 — 22 Families
- ✓ Revenue model: $75–$150/family/month
- ✓ 90-day pilot: ESA landscape mapping
Economic Opportunity Channel
For Denominational Leaders
Channel Shopify grants, CDFI capital, and supplier diversity contracts to church entrepreneurs. Your network brokers business opportunities.
$225K Capital
channeled Year 1
20-30
Entrepreneurs
What's Inside:
- ✓ $225K Capital channeled Year 1 — 20-30 Entrepreneurs
- ✓ Revenue model: $500–$1,000/church/month
- ✓ 90-day pilot: Build entrepreneur roster
Food Sovereignty Network
For Denominational Leaders
Connect Black farmers directly to urban churches via CSA model. Your network creates fresh produce pipeline and reinvests admin fees.
$255K Grant
for refrigerated vans
10-50
Churches
What's Inside:
- ✓ $255K Grant for refrigerated vans — 10-50 Churches
- ✓ Revenue model: 10% bulk CSA sales
- ✓ 90-day pilot: Map farmers, secure 5 churches
Green Energy Cooperative
For Denominational Leaders
Solar installations with RE-volv financing save $180K–$200K per church over 25 years. Network repays via PPA savings, funds youth staff.
$200K Savings
/church over 25 yrs
0% interest
loans
What's Inside:
- ✓ $200K Savings/church over 25 yrs — 0% interest loans
- ✓ Revenue model: Church repays via PPA savings
- ✓ 90-day pilot: Audit 10 churches, apply RE-volv
Community Bail Fund Network
For Denominational Leaders
Revolving bail capital with 89% recycling rate prevents job loss and saves families 10% commercial bondsman fee. Financial intermediary model.
$2.8M Granted
for Black Mamas Bail Out
89% recycling
rate
What's Inside:
- ✓ $2.8M Granted for Black Mamas Bail Out — 89% recycling
- ✓ Revenue model: $10K seed recycles indefinitely
- ✓ 90-day pilot: Secure $10K seed, train 3 coordinators
Lending Circle & Credit Building
For Denominational Leaders
Zero-interest peer lending circles build credit with 168-point average increase. Formalizes sou-sou traditions into credit infrastructure.
$915K
In loans, 862 members
+168
Avg credit score
What's Inside:
- ✓ $915K In loans, 862 members — +168 Avg credit score
- ✓ Revenue model: Philanthropic seed capital rotates
- ✓ 90-day pilot: Secure $50K seed, launch 3 circles
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