Marketplace Ministry
Lead the Christian Business Community in Your City
You've spent years connecting people, encouraging believers, building relationships, and serving your community. Now you can use that experience to build something completely new—a thriving Christian Business Directory that connects Christian business owners, churches, and consumers throughout your city.
Own Your City Directory • Keep 100% of Your Listing Revenue • $997 Annual Platform Fee
Your Background Matters
Your Ministry Experience May Have Prepared You for Something You Never Expected
If you've spent years in ministry, you already possess many of the skills required to build a strong Christian business community.
- You know how to meet people.
- You know how to develop relationships.
- You know how to communicate a vision.
- You know how to encourage others.
- You know how to connect people who can help one another.
- You know how to serve a community.
Those same skills can be incredibly valuable in the marketplace.
You don't have to start another church, nonprofit, or traditional ministry to continue making an impact.
Your next ministry opportunity may be found among the Christian entrepreneurs, professionals, and business owners already working throughout your city.
Marketplace Ministry
This Isn't Just a Directory. It's a Marketplace Ministry Platform.
A Christian City Business Directory begins with something very practical: helping people find Christian-owned businesses.
But the opportunity can become much greater.
As the City Directory Owner, you can become a Christian Marketplace Connector for your community.
- Christian consumers discover Christian-owned businesses.
- Christian business owners become more visible.
- Business owners meet and refer one another.
- Churches discover local Christian service providers.
- Christian entrepreneurs receive encouragement.
- Local ministries connect with potential business partners.
- Churches and businesses develop new relationships.
- Christian business owners share their stories.
- A stronger Christian business community develops throughout the city.
The website is the platform. The relationships are the ministry.
Your Role
Become the Christian Marketplace Connector for Your City
The goal is not simply to sell listings. The City Directory Owner becomes the person who intentionally identifies and connects the Christian business community.
Do you know a Christian plumber?
Who is a Christian realtor in our area?
Does anyone know a Christian attorney?
Who handles business insurance?
Is there a Christian-owned HVAC company nearby?
Who can build our church website?
Imagine becoming the person people turn to when those questions are asked.
Your directory becomes the resource that provides the answer.
The goal is to eventually make your city's Christian Business Directory the first place Christians think to search when they need a local product or service.
The Four-Part Mission
Your Mission Is Simple
CONNECT
Build relationships with Christian business owners and introduce them to one another.
PROMOTE
Help Christian-owned businesses become more visible throughout your community.
ENCOURAGE
Encourage Christian entrepreneurs as they navigate business, leadership, family, faith, and responsibility.
GROW
Grow the directory so that it serves more businesses, reaches more consumers, and creates sustainable ongoing revenue.
Connect. Promote. Encourage. Grow.
Who Is This For?
A Unique Opportunity for Ministry-Minded Leaders
Pastors
Pastors who want to extend their influence into the marketplace and help Christian entrepreneurs connect.
Former Pastors
Those who have stepped away from vocational church ministry but still have a heart to lead, serve, encourage, and connect people.
Retired Pastors
Experienced leaders who have decades of relationships and still want meaningful ways to serve their community.
Marketplace Ministry Leaders
People already passionate about helping Christians live out their faith through business and work.
Missionaries
Mission-minded leaders who understand relationship-building, outreach, and community development.
Christian Nonprofit Leaders
People who already know how to connect businesses, churches, ministries, and community organizations.
Church Staff & Ministry Leaders
Executive pastors, associate pastors, men's and women's ministry leaders, church administrators, outreach leaders, and other ministry professionals.
Christian Networking Leaders
People already bringing Christian professionals and entrepreneurs together.
You don't need to be a technology expert.
The directory platform is already built.
Your strength is relationships.
A New Kind of Ministry Field
The Marketplace Is Filled With People Who Need Encouragement and Connection
Christian entrepreneurs carry responsibilities many people never see.
And the constant pressure of keeping a business moving forward.
Many Christian business owners would benefit from relationships with other believers who understand both faith and business.
As a City Directory Owner, you don't have to become everyone's pastor. You simply become someone who helps connect and encourage the Christian business community.
Your ministry can happen through conversations, introductions, business spotlights, networking events, referrals, prayer, and genuine relationships.
Churches & Businesses
Help Churches Discover Christian Businesses in Their Own Community
Churches regularly need:
A Christian Business Directory gives churches another resource for discovering local businesses.
At the same time, Christian business owners often want opportunities to support churches and ministries. The directory can help bring those two communities together.
Churches need businesses. Businesses want to serve churches. Your directory helps them find one another.
Church Partnerships
Imagine Building Relationships With Churches Across Your City
The Directory Owner can invite churches to help make their members aware of the local Christian Business Directory. The goal is not primarily to sell something to churches. Instead, churches can help introduce the directory to their congregations.
The City Directory Owner could provide participating churches with:
- Directory website link
- QR code
- Social media graphics
- Bulletin announcement
- Email announcement
- Website button
- Printable directory cards
- Business submission link
10 Churches
Hundreds or thousands of potential directory users
25 Churches
Citywide awareness begins to grow
50+ Churches
A powerful local Christian business network
These illustrations are examples of how awareness could grow. They are not guaranteed results.
Build a Community
The Goal Is to Become the Christian Business Hub for Your City
A successful directory can become more than a searchable website. City Directory Owners may choose to develop:
The directory becomes the foundation underneath a growing community.
Christian Business Coffee
Bring the Directory to Life With a Monthly Christian Business Coffee
City Directory Owners may choose to host an informal monthly gathering.
- 15 MinutesNetworking
- 10 MinutesIntroductions
- 10 MinutesFeatured Christian Business
- 10 MinutesMarketplace Encouragement
- 10 MinutesReferrals & Connections
- 5 MinutesPrayer
No complicated conference.
No expensive production.
Simply bring Christian business people together.
These gatherings can deepen relationships, create referrals, introduce prospective directory members, and strengthen the Christian business community.
Business Spotlights
Tell the Stories Behind the Businesses
Every business represents a person with a story.
Instead of simply listing businesses, Directory Owners can feature them.
Meet David — Owner of ABC Plumbing
- Why did he start his company?
- What does he love about serving his community?
- How has his faith affected the way he operates?
- What lessons has he learned through business?
- How can people contact him?
The City Directory Owner can publish written spotlights, social media posts, and short video interviews. This helps promote the business while making the directory more personal.
Don't just advertise businesses. Introduce your city to the people behind them.
Interview Series
Become a Voice for Christian Business in Your Community
A simple interview format
- 1.Tell us about your business.
- 2.Why did you start it?
- 3.How does your faith influence the way you operate?
- 4.What is one lesson business has taught you?
- 5.How can people connect with you?
Where interviews can be shared
- The directory website
- YouTube
- Email newsletters
- Local Christian groups
- Participating churches
Over time, the Directory Owner can become known as someone who champions Christian entrepreneurs throughout the community.
Referral Culture
What Happens When Christian Businesses Start Referring One Another?
One relationship creates another.
Your directory can become the place where Christian business owners discover one another and intentionally look for opportunities to refer business.
The strongest network isn't built by asking, “Who can send me business?” It is built by asking, “Who can I send business to?”
Business Ambassadors
Let Your Members Help Grow the Community
Once Christian business owners join, the City Directory Owner can simply ask:
“Who are two or three other Christian business owners you know?”
One business introduces another. Those businesses introduce others.
Over time, the network can grow through personal relationships rather than depending entirely on cold outreach.
From Ministry to Marketplace
Your Season of Ministry May Be Changing. Your Opportunity to Serve Isn't Over.
Maybe you have pastored for decades.
Maybe you recently stepped away from church leadership.
Maybe you're retired. Maybe you served as a missionary.
Maybe you've led a nonprofit or Christian ministry.
You still have something incredibly valuable:
Relationships. Experience. Wisdom. Leadership. Compassion. Credibility.
Those gifts can continue serving people. Only the setting changes.
Instead of leading a congregation, you may now help build a community of Christian business owners.
Instead of organizing church programs, you may organize marketplace connections.
Instead of introducing ministry volunteers, you may introduce businesses that can help one another.
Your ministry experience is not wasted. It may have prepared you for this next opportunity.
Purpose and Income
Build Something Meaningful That Can Also Produce Income
This is a legitimate business opportunity as well as a ministry-minded community platform.
City Directory Owners pay
$997
Annually
for their city directory platform.
The City Directory Owner receives
100%
Of the listing revenue
generated by their directory.
Recommended listing pricing may include:
Premium Listing
- Monthly
- $10
- Annually
- $100
- Lifetime
- $240
Featured Listing
- Monthly
- $15
- Annually
- $150
- Lifetime
- $360
These are recommended pricing options. The City Directory Owner controls their local listing revenue.
Illustration Only
What Could a Growing Directory Look Like?
The following examples are mathematical illustrations only and are not income guarantees. Actual results depend on your pricing, effort, market, relationships, sales, retention, and participation.
100 Businesses
Average $125 per year
$12,500
Annual listing revenue
250 Businesses
Average $125 per year
$31,250
Annual listing revenue
500 Businesses
Average $125 per year
$62,500
Annual listing revenue
But the vision is bigger than revenue.
Imagine knowing hundreds of Christian business owners throughout your community.
Imagine churches using your directory.
Imagine businesses referring one another.
Imagine entrepreneurs gathering monthly.
Imagine becoming the person who helps connect the Christian marketplace throughout your city.
Be Clear-Eyed
This Is a Relationship Business
We are not presenting this as a “get rich quick” or passive-income program.
- Successful City Directory Owners will build relationships.
- They will contact businesses.
- They will communicate with churches.
- They will promote the directory.
- They will introduce people.
- They will stay involved and serve their community.
The stronger the relationships, the stronger the directory can become.
Build Something Meaningful in Your City That Can Also Produce Ongoing Income.
Getting Started
Your First 90-Day Mission
Days 1–30
Build the Foundation
- Identify Christian businesses throughout your city.
- Personally meet or contact at least 25 Christian business owners.
- Begin building relationships with pastors.
- Launch your local social media presence.
- Add your first businesses.
- Begin telling people why the directory exists.
Days 31–60
Build the Community
- Continue adding businesses.
- Establish relationships with additional churches.
- Begin weekly business spotlights.
- Interview Christian entrepreneurs.
- Host your first Christian Business Coffee.
- Encourage participating businesses to refer others.
Days 61–90
Build the Movement
- Work toward 75–100 businesses.
- Develop referral partnerships.
- Establish a Business Ambassador system.
- Continue expanding church awareness.
- Begin positioning the directory as the Christian business hub for your city.
These are suggested activity goals, not promised outcomes.
The Technology
You Don't Have to Build the Technology
Christians in Business provides the directory platform.
The backend is already built.
The business categories are already established.
The listing system is already available.
The directory can be branded for the owner's city.
The owner does not need to become a software developer.
Their responsibility is what many ministry leaders already do well: build relationships, communicate vision, connect people, grow community.
City Ownership
Build the Christian Business Directory for Your Community
Christians in Business will not sell the exact same City Directory to another person once that city has been assigned.
However, nearby communities within a larger metropolitan area may each have their own directory.
Example: One person may own the Atlanta Christian Business Directory while another may own the Woodstock Christian Business Directory, because Woodstock is its own distinct community within the Atlanta metropolitan area.
City and community availability is subject to approval.
What You Receive
Everything You Need to Start Building
- Your own branded Christian City Business Directory
- City-specific branding
- Owner dashboard
- Business listing platform
- Premium and Featured listing capabilities
- Business categories
- Directory search functionality
- Training on launching the directory
- Training on recruiting Christian businesses
- Church outreach strategies
- Business spotlight ideas
- Marketplace networking strategies
- Referral-building strategies
- Promotional ideas and templates
- Connection to the Christians in Business City Directory Network
$997
Annually
No percentage of your directory listing revenue is paid to Christians in Business. You receive 100% of the listing revenue generated by your directory.
Your Advantage
You May Already Have the Most Valuable Asset: Relationships
You Know Pastors
Church relationships can help introduce the directory throughout your city.
You Know Business Owners
Many Christian business owners may already be within your circle of relationships.
You Know How to Communicate Vision
Ministry leaders understand how to help people see why something matters.
You Understand Community
You've spent years helping people connect and belong.
You Know How to Encourage People
Business owners often need encouragement as much as anyone.
You Have Credibility
Years of serving people can create relationships and trust that cannot be purchased through advertising.
The Bigger Vision
What If Every City Had Someone Building Its Christian Business Community?
Imagine Christian business owners throughout your city knowing one another.
Imagine churches knowing where to find Christian businesses.
Imagine entrepreneurs referring one another.
Imagine monthly Christian business gatherings.
Imagine business owners sharing their stories.
Imagine believers intentionally supporting businesses within their community.
Imagine Christian entrepreneurs realizing that their workplace can become part of their ministry.
That is the vision.
We aren't simply building directories. We're helping build connected Christian business communities—one city at a time.
Founder Message
A Personal Invitation From Joseph Cutler
For most of my life, I have been involved in ministry.
For many years, I thought about ministry primarily through the church.
But over time, I began seeing something else.
There are Christian men and women throughout our communities who spend most of their lives in the marketplace. They own companies. They manage employees. They serve customers. They take risks. They make difficult decisions. And many of them want their faith to matter in the way they conduct business.
But too often, these Christian business owners don't know one another. Churches don't know they exist. Consumers don't know how to find them. And business owners who could help one another never meet.
That's why I believe the Christian City Business Directory can become much more than a directory. It can become a way to connect the Christian business community throughout a city.
And I believe pastors, former pastors, ministry leaders, and other Christian connectors are uniquely equipped to lead that effort.
You've spent years bringing people together. You've encouraged people. You've built relationships. You've served your community. Those abilities still matter.
My invitation to you is simple:
Consider using your ministry experience to help build the Christian business community in your city. You can serve people. You can build relationships. You can create something meaningful. And at the same time, you can build a business that generates ongoing listing revenue.
I would love to see Christian leaders across America step into their communities and become marketplace connectors.
Maybe your city is next.
Joseph Cutler
CEO, Christians in Business
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Check Availability
See If Your City Is Available
Tell us where you serve and we'll confirm whether your city's Christian Business Directory is currently available.
Your City Already Has Christian Business Owners.
They May Simply Need Someone to Bring Them Together.
You have spent years building relationships.
You know how to communicate. You know how to encourage people.
You understand ministry. You understand community.
Now imagine using those gifts to help connect Christian businesses, churches, and consumers throughout your city.
Build the directory. Build the relationships. Build the community.
Christians in Business — Building Connected Christian Business Communities, One City at a Time.