The IRS's 14 Characteristics of a Church Aren't a Test. They're a Blueprint. 

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is treating the IRS's 14 Characteristics of a Church like a checklist they have to survive.

"Do I have enough members?"

"Do I need a building?"

"What if I don't have ordained ministers?"

They're reading the list backwards.

I think the better question is this:

Why would the government even care about these things?

Look at what is actually on the list.

• Doctrine
• Ecclesiastical government
• Ministers
• Minister training
• Religious education
• Membership
• Worship
• Literature
• Leadership

Notice what isn't on the list.

Revenue.

Profit.

Market share.

Customers.

Employees.

The list isn't describing a business.

It's describing a self-governing society.

Every item points toward the same idea:

Can this community govern itself according to its own beliefs?

That's what makes the list so powerful.

Most people look at it and see obstacles.

I look at it and see a design manual.

The IRS accidentally handed you a blueprint for building a church with substance.

Think about it.

If you're going to establish a church, wouldn't you want:

• A clearly defined doctrine?
• A method of training future ministers?
• A leadership structure that survives you?
• A membership held together by covenant?
• A community that can educate, serve, and govern itself?

Of course you would.

Those aren't burdens.

They're strengths.

They're what make a church larger than a PMA.

Larger than a UNA.

Larger than a nonprofit.

Because a church isn't simply an organization.

It's a civilization in miniature.

That's why, inside Mission Mandate, I don't teach the 14 Characteristics as hurdles to overcome.

I teach them as a roadmap for building a church that will still be standing decades from now.

Because if your mission matters...

It deserves a structure that can outlive you.