The Oikos Accelerator empowers congregations around the US to align money and mission by creatively using their buildings and property to further their mission and build financial resilience.
By the end of the Oikos Accelerator, each organization will effectively design and launch a social enterprise that utilizes their church property in some form.
Oikos Accelerator will run for approximately one year from March 2021 through May 2022. 50 congregations will be selected for participation.
Oikos is the Greek term for household — and it is also the etymological root of economics and ecology.
Impacts of The Oikos Accelerator
The Oikos Accelerator will help congregations:
- Understand the church’s changing context in terms of your ministry, local community, and financial model
- Imagine how your core mission and theology shapes the use of buildings and property in light of this changing context
- Expand your capacity to experiment, try new things, learn from failure, and try again
- Experiment with new, innovative uses of buildings and property that both further your mission and generate income
- Launch a social enterprise utilizing your church property
What participating congregations can expect in the Oikos Accelerator
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Tools and resources
Access to fun, dynamic, and proven tools, games, and resources. Physical resources will be delivered through the mail and digital resources will be available online.
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Jump Start Accelerator
Participation in an online learning program called Jump Start, which will help you identify and design two ideas for new activities and/or social enterprises using your property.
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Convening in Spring 2022
One in-person convening in the Spring of 2022 (if conditions allow it) where you will gather with the other participating congregations to develop your projects, share what you are learning, and ‘pitch’ your project to funders, connectors, and resource-providers.
Who is The Oikos Accelerator Designed For?
The Oikos Accelerator is perfect for your congregation if you:
How to join the Oikos Accelerator
The starting point in the Oikos Project is our free tool, “What Now?: Congregational Planning in the Age of COVID-19”. Congregations interested in participating in Oikos are encouraged to download the What Now? tool and begin using it in their context.
In the winter of 2020/21 RootedGood will begin taking applications for the Oikos Accelerator which will begin in March 2021. Participating in Oikos costs only $500 per congregation plus travel costs to the 2022 convening (scholarship funds are available if cost is prohibitive). Subscribe below to stay informed and receive an application.