Meat Chickens Provide Financial Kick-Start for Churches

God has provided many faithful Nicaraguans to start churches all over Nicaragua! These leaders complete two years of training in country, and then they get sent out to begin and lead their new congregation.

Why Churches Need a Financial Kick-Start

One thing the church-planters need most to get their churches off the ground is financial support for the pastor and his family. The pastor is essentially a missionary until his church has enough members, so this is a short-term need for each pastor, but it's an important step in the church planting process.  (Once the church has a congregation, tithes and offerings take over this financial support.)

Even so, financial support should come from a sustainable, independent source for these pastors. One popular method pastors are using in Nicaragua is growing meat chickens!

The Meat Chickens Project

A donor provides 25 chicks plus seven weeks of food and a portable cage to the pastor or church planter as the initial kickstart. The cost for this is about $60. The donor will also provide the one-time finances for meat chicken raising vocational training for the pastor or church planter recipient.

When the chicks are fully developed they sell for double the amount invested into them. So then, the idea is that the pastor will reinvest the $60 into the business for the next round of meat chickens and supplies. And the pastor will keep $60 to support this family.

So far 13 church planting families are using this model successfully in their rural Nicaraguan locations!

Sustainability is Key

This project and others (like yucca, bees, and plantain businesses) are reproducible and self-sustaining. This is important because it allows the churches to be self-sufficient and able to reproduce churches on their own as they continue to spread the gospel and plant churches all over Nicaragua.

You Can Play a Role

A few things are still needed for this kickstart project. A permanent location for the vocational training program is one. Funds for the initial $60 investment are key as well!