Can business franchising be for churches too?

What do fast food chains and churches have in common?  These seemingly different institutions might have more in common than you think.  Historically, franchising was limited to the trade industry, but the strategy of franchising is now being applied to the human services industry as well.  Many of the franchising principles that guide fast food chains are also prevalent within church denominations.  

I am proposing a new way to think about church congregations as franchisees of larger church denominations.  Christian churches are traditionally not for profit organizations, so the concept of franchising churches needs to be nuanced from the original definition.  Rather than a physical product, church congregations provide services including spiritual growth, community, and outreach.  Christian denominations provide support, guidance, and standards for individual churches.  In addition, churches that are affiliated with larger denominations receive values and organizational identity from their denomination.  

To apply the organizational strategy of franchising to church denominations, I analyzed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  Mission, vision, and values shape the organizational identity of the ELCA and unite the congregational identities with the ELCA churchwide organization.  However, some ELCA congregations seem to align with the mission, vision, and values of the ELCA churchwide organization more closely than others.  I analyzed mission and value statements that were listed on the websites of the ELCA churchwide organization and several ELCA congregations in Fargo, ND.  

Analyzing congregations within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America churchwide organization yielded results.  First, there appeared to be a correlation between the size of the congregation and the amount of information on their website. Larger congregations were bolder in making statements that were not uniform with the ELCA churchwide organization. For example, one congregation used language that was not inclusive or affirming of LGBTQ individuals.  This statement directly conflicted with the ELCA churchwide organization’s value of inclusion and diversity that includes the LGBTQ community.  Smaller congregations generally had more ambiguous mission, values, and belief statements.  What does this correlation mean in regard to the relationship between congregation size and identity alignment with the larger church denomination?  As business organizations and church organizations continue to evolve, expanding our understanding of franchising and organizational identity in church organizations will provide useful insights for both people involved and not involved in church organizations.