How Did New Beginnings Come About?

New Beginnings is born out of Church Extension’s mission to serve congregations “in the context of their culture and stage of life.” To this end, we not only provide service to congregations during the early stage of their ministry, but also as they approach the later stages of their lifecycle.

Over the last decade, more and more small congregations were applying to Church Extension for property repair loans. Congregations with 25 or 40 members were applying for funds to repair their roofs or replace their boilers. Since the expense to replace these items is so high, repairs add an extra burden on already small and struggling congregations. This led Church Extension to ask, “What is the BEST way we can help struggling congregations, beyond providing a loan?”

After an extensive testing and piloting phase, the New Beginnings Assessment Service was born. To date, it has helped more than 100 congregations ask deep questions about their church and community, leading many struggling congregations to invest in fresh, new and much-needed ministries to their neighbors.