Different Types of Churches: The Entrepreneurial Church
In our recap of the Exponential NEXT Podcast Series: Church Expressions, Carrie Williams and Bill Couchenour talk with Carl Johnson and Scott Woller about Entrepreneurial Church Planting.
First, a little about the guests. Carl Johnson is with Faith City Church Network in St. Paul, MN. Faith City Church is a Black-led, multi-ethnic congregation whose mission is to bring life change in the name of Jesus through accessible and affordable food, discipleship, and community engagement. This is no ordinary church. They utilize their Storehouse Grocers and Storehouse Coffee to provide job training programs and to create spaces for authentic worship and connection.
Scott Woller with Corner Church in Minneapolis, MN. Its name is derived from their unique model: the local coffee shop. They don’t have one location but 5 local communities that operate as a coffee shop during the week and a church for service gatherings. Their calling is to see a church within walking distance of people in their city. Woller planted this church 20 years ago.
What is Entrepreneurial Church Planting?
The aim of this unique church model is to be a value to its community. Woller pointed out that there is significance in offering something people are willing to pay for. In his case, a cup of coffee. He also noted that this model helps create greater financial sustainability for the church, an increasing concern for new church plants amid the rising cost of real estate, especially in urban areas.
Woller shared that, in his context, the coffee shop becomes a central gathering place for the community, which also means the church becomes central too. The two are not separate entities, but fully intertwined.
Johnson was quick to point out that this is not the same as BAM (Business as Mission). He described entrepreneurial church planting more like a prism—encompassing planting, innovation, risk-taking, vision, and more. At the heart of it, he emphasized, is adaptability.
How Did You End Up Here?
Johnson’s vision grew out of a desire to address the food insecurity he saw in the community around him. He named it as one of the most basic human needs and pointed to the many times Jesus fed people throughout the Gospels. So in 2017, they served their first community meal. His heart for ministry is captured in this simple mantra: “Every church is a grocery store.”
Through a season of discernment, Woller realized early on that they needed to be both 100% a community coffee shop and 100% a church, representative of a true body of Christ. When he planted his first location, they were initially meeting in an existing coffee shop. Then, after a year of saving toward purchasing a location, the owners unexpectedly approached him and said, “You should buy this one!” That became the launch point for the first of what would eventually become five coffee shops.
What Does Your Week Look Like?
Woller’s weekly rhythm is primarily pastoral, with only about 10–15% of his time spent in the coffee shops themselves. The shops are open Monday through Saturday and are staffed by baristas, dishwashers, and cashiers. At the same time, each location also has its own pastor who, like Woller, serves primarily in a pastoral role rather than behind the espresso machine.
Because Johnson’s church model is deeply connected to serving the broader community, his week takes him in many different directions. He serves as a chaplain and sits on a number of community boards, which means much of his time is spent in meetings and relationship-building throughout the week. He also opens the coffee shop, helps train people, and stays involved in the day-to-day work of the ministry.
What Advice Do They Have?
When asked what counsel they would offer to those considering this model of church planting, both shared a few important insights.
Woller noted that the global answer to church space may very well be co-use space. It’s a lower-risk approach that can even begin within existing businesses in your community. He also encouraged churches to remove the fences around their assets so those spaces can actually serve the people around them, a valuable challenge for both new and established churches.
Johnson pointed to a fundamental difference between business and faith: business scales, but faith multiplies. Scaling a business can happen quickly, but the multiplication of faith takes time, patience, and intentionality. He also emphasized that while you can’t operate as a business all the time, you are always part of a community. For both new and existing churches, he noted that many have no real community development plan. That, he suggested, is where to begin—with a posture of listening.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurial church planting reminds us that the Church is not limited to a building or a familiar model. When we listen well, serve real needs, and stay open to the Spirit’s leading, new expressions of church can take root in powerful ways. The invitation is simple but costly: pay attention, love your community well, and be willing to imagine what church could become for the sake of the gospel.
If you found this article helpful, you may appreciate some of the resources below.
