How Pastors Can Create Passive Income Through Online Platforms with John Stange

What would you do if your church suddenly couldn’t pay you anymore? For Pastor John Stange, it sent him on a mission to create multiple streams of passive income through his own online platforms. We’ll show you how he did it, and how you can too, in this episode of the More Than a Pastor Show.

Links for Today's Show

• Connect with John Stange: PlatformLaunchers.com and DesireJesus.com
• Watch this Episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6H6nk0dkcE
• Join our Members Community: Become a Founding Member
• My Last Post: How One Pastor Launched a Health Coaching Business

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Introducing John Stange

I’m beyond thrilled to have my friend John Stange join us on the show today. I first met John at an entrepreneurial pastor’s event a year and a half ago, and as I heard his story there, I was blown away by all the ways John was creating income for his family outside of his church by repurposing and monetizing the things he had already created for his pastoral ministry.

And I was amazed to learn that this entrepreneurial journey began for him, in earnest, on the day when his church treasurer came to him and said, “I’m sorry Pastor John, we don’t have enough money to pay you this week.” So I can't wait to share John’s story with you in just a moment.

John is an author, podcaster, and pastor. He has written over 30 books. He hosts four podcasts with have been downloaded over 10 million times, including:

1. The Chapter-A-Day Audio Bible
2. Daily Devotions with Pastor John
3. Dwell on These Things
4. Platform Launchers

John has been serving in church leadership for the past 25 years, and is the lead pastor of Core Creek Community Church in Langhorne, PA.

John also leads a membership community called Platform Launchers which helps members build, grow, and monetize message-based online platforms. I’ve been a member of Platform Launchers for more than a year now, and it’s really helped me take more consistent action to build and grow my More than a Pastor platform.

More than that, I’ve grown to love John and the other members I’ve gotten to know in the community, and the support and encouragement we give each other, which has inspired me to finally launch my More Than a Pastor online members community as well.

To learn more about John, please visit PlatformLaunchers.com or DesireJesus.com. 

And now let’s get to our conversation with John Stange!

Highlights from the Full Interview

From the Family Business to His Father’s Business

John grew up in a family that owned a grocery store, so he was familiar with entrepreneurship from a young age. The grocery was started by his great-grandfather, then passed down to his grandfather, then passed down to his father, and there was the expectation that John would take it over one day.

But as a teenager, John became more active in his faith in Christ, and people started to see pastoral gifts in him. Initially, he wasn't interested in being a pastor and thought it would be a weird life. He had always wanted to go into business and saw himself being a pastor’s “right-hand man.” After discerning that God was calling him to be a pastor, he began in full-time pastoral ministry in 1998.

When John Discovered He Was More Than a Pastor

In 2008, John was called to replant a church in a community outside of Philadelphia. While there was initial funding to get started, it eventually ran out, and the growing church was unable to sustain his full salary. He vividly remembers the Sunday when his treasurer came to him, with tears in his eyes, and said the church didn’t have enough money to pay him. For two years, from 2014-2016, John wasn't sure if he'd get paid or not.

One day, while in his car parked outside a store, John poured his heart out to God, asking for help to know what to do next to be able to feed his family and pay his mortgage and other debts. He knew he was called to continue ministering in his church, and that taking a traditional second job would eat into his ministry and family time. So he needed to find alternative sources of income.

First Steps to Creating Streams of Passive Income

The first idea God gave him was to start writing books to supplement his income. He started testing the waters with self-publishing on Amazon's KDP platform and was able to convert some of the content he had already written for his ministry into books.Some of the early books he wrote started to bring in a decent amount of money per month, sometimes up to $2,000!

John also did voiceover work for commercials and videos that his videographer friend produced. These opportunities paid very well but they were hit and miss. These two initial ideas led him on a journey to develop multiple streams of online income that became a significant portion of his budget, even in the early stages.

Leveraging ministry skills into multiple streams of passive income

Over the last 10 years John has created an entire ecosystem where he has leveraged his ministry skills and passions into multiple streams of passive income. And these income streams that once supplemented his ministry income have now replaced it. In fact, John now has the joy and freedom of asking his church to pay him only after every bill is paid and all other staff salaries are covered first. The ecosystem begins with:

1. More than 30 self-published or traditionally-published books
2. Podcasts including The Chapter A Day Audio Bible, Daily Devotions with Pastor John, and Dwell on These Things, which have had over 10 million downloads
3. The DesireJesus.com website, where people can find his podcast, books, and other resources.

From these John earns book royalties, affiliate income, advertising income, speaking honorariums, crowdfunding support, and more.

Platform Launchers Helps Others Build, Grow, and Monetize their Own Online Platforms

Over the years, people would ask John if he would show them how he developed the books, podcasts, website, and multiple streams of income into a message-based online platform. So in 2021 he decided to launch Platform Launchers, an online community and podcast designed to help message-based entrepreneurs build, grow, and monetize their own online platforms in 21 days, following the same pathway that John discovered through years of trial and error.

John now has over 100 members in the Platform Launchers Members Club, and more joining every week. I’ve been a member of Platform Launchers for more than a year now, and it is literally one of the best decisions I’ve made to help grow my business. There were so many things I’d been dragging my feet on, and Platform Launchers has given me many practical tools and resources, but also the support and encouragement I’ve needed to take action, and it’s only $49 a month.

Normally John offers a FREE 2-week trial of Platform Launchers. But if you use my affiliate link (I do receive a small commission), you can double it and enjoy a 30-day trial of Platform Launchers absolutely free! That’s a whole month to check out the massive training library, join us for our weekly member training calls, get to know people inside the online community, and so much more. You can try it out today by clicking here: www.morethanapastor.com/platform.

Multiple Streams of Income Give Freedom to Pastors

Some pastors get stuck because they feel they’re unable to make certain tough decisions for fear that it may upset certain people in their congregation and have financial repercussions for them personally or for the church.

John believes that his ability to support himself and his family through other streams of income outside the church, along with his lack of debt today, provides him with the freedom to make tough decisions as a pastor without fear. He can lead the way he feels called to lead, even if it means making unpopular decisions that may result in him being fired. John's financial stability allows him to make decisions based on conviction rather than fear of financial insecurity.

Knowing What He Knows Now, What Advice Would John Give to a Younger Version of Himself?

John would tell his younger self to think about multiple streams of income, especially those that are not highly dependent on his time. He would also advise his younger self to avoid debt and not to become too casual with it. He used to be comfortable with borrowing money to get where he needed to go, but he realized that he was one interruption away from not being able to pay his bills. He started following a plan to get rid of his debt, including credit card debt and a mortgage, and it took years to achieve debt freedom. He now lives a lean lifestyle and doesn't owe anything to anyone, which allows him to be more generous and invest for the future. He wishes he could go back in time and tell his younger self to stay on the plus side with his finances, avoid debt, and keep investing for the future.

What Advice Would John Give to Someone Who Thinks They're Too Old or Too Late to Do Something New?

John believes you're never too old and it's never too late to create new streams of income. He cites Colonel Sanders as an example of someone who didn't start his successful business until he was past the age of traditional retirement. John believes it's never too late to invest in yourself, and to especially invest in mentors who can help you make the most of the time you have available to build something new. John created Platform Launchers to help people who feel like they don't know where to go with their passion, to show them systems they can follow that will save them time, help them launch their platform, and get to profitability sooner.