Mission and Money: New Economic Models for Faith Communities
Auburn Theological Seminary invited faith leaders and non-profit professionals to a special event celebrating both the release of the Rev. Brendan J. Barnicle, Ph.D., D. Min.’s ground-breaking book, Doing Well by Doing Good: The Missional Benefits of Church-Based Economic Enterprises, and Auburn’s anniversary of incorporation over 200 years ago.
Kate Adams, Interim Chief of Staff, and Jacob Sierra, Senior Program Director, Digital Resources, attended the presentation held on April 14, 2026, at the Interchurch Center in New York.
The Reverend Barnicle shared that most churches' current financial models are based on individual contributions, endowments, or passive rental income. Although sustainable in the short-term, he began to examine whether churches could reimagine alternative missional and financial models. In his book, he describes case studies of churches that operated a business to generate active income. He found that these models were transformational as well because these churches were experiencing missional renewal and congregational growth, in addition to financial sustainability. He demonstrates how church-based economic enterprises can create lasting change while supporting their spiritual mission.
Prior to becoming an Episcopal priest, the Reverend Barnicle worked for more than twenty years as a corporate lawyer, investment banker, and high-tech entrepreneur. Currently, he is the interim Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the Church Pension Group Board of Trustees.