1K Churches is an ecumenical Christian initiative to build a base of congregations and individuals committed to discovering God’s Economy and transforming our own. Through participating in a Bible study and making an investment in micro-businesses in their local communities, church members will explore their individual and institutional call as economic actors. The name “1K Churches” comes from the vision that by 2017, one thousand churches across the U.S. will be actively engaged, making this initiative a movement.
1k Churches Bible Study Resources
In the fall of 2017, the Siebert Lutheran Foundation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, invited Criterion Institute to consider the possibility of focusing its many resources for using finance for social change on a specific place, the greater Milwaukee area, and to do so in collaboration with local Lutheran congregations and leaders and other ecumenical partners.
This Blueprint has been prepared as a guide for Christian faith-based organizations actively seeking to create transformative social change, whatever their specific issue focus or context.
Our mission is to broaden what matters in our economic decisions by expanding who has power and influence in the work of reinventing the economy.
Not every congregation will have the same access to capital, the same financial savvy, or the same investment goals. Congregations will be drawn to a range of mission priorities. We have identified ten areas of social concern that are relevant cultural and social issues, and influenced by economic structures.
Since our founding, we have partnered with churches because they inspire a large number of people to imagine greater possibilities.
Meet Rev. Philip Waite, a new friend of Criterion Institute, who has a passion for connecting faith and finance to do God’s work in the world. Rev. Waite is pastoral team leader of College Mennonite Church on the campus of Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.
Now in our third year of interest-free lending to small businesses in greater Austin, University United Methodist’s most valuable “dividend” is our relationships with our neighbors providing the “sweat equity” to start or grow those businesses.
Hope was the first word spoken. Members of the 1K Churches team at Napa Valley Lutheran Church (Napa, California) had been asked to use one word to express what they were feeling now -- four years since they first began with the Bible study.
Our work depends on an ever-expanding community of team members, advisors, donors, and other partners who help us demonstrate our theory of change and ultimately achieve our mission. Learn more about how you can become more engaged in our work.
Invitations to Engage