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Christian firm launches crowdfunding campaign to build McDonald's in a church

December 1, 2014

Lux Dei Design, a Christian design company based in New Jersey, has launched a new crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo called the "McMass Project." The objective is to raise enough money to build a McDonald's franchise in a church.

According to a video on the project's IndieGoGo's page, "In the US, 2 million people leave the church each year." In 2013, this resulted in a net loss of $6 million.

"It's time to pray different. The solution? To build a McDonald's in a church," the video continued, pointing to the Trappist Monks' moneymaking efforts in the 1830s – when they sold beer to fund the monasteries.

"McDonald's restaurants serve 70 million people each year … They also bring families together: 9 million families stay together because of the Ronald McDonald House," the video said. "Churches and McDonald's are perfect partners."

The video outlines this "perfect partnership" in three bullet points:

• Churches need financial support; McDonald's is highly profitable;
• Churches need to attract people; McDonald's draws constant crowds;
• McDonald's needs central locations; churches are community centers.

The project aims to raise $1 million to start its first "McMass Church." Lux Dei Design has even created a #Feast4Jesus hashtag, as well as t-shirts and other merchandise, to support the initiative.

The campaign was launched on Nov. 17 and runs through Jan. 16. So far, it has raised $167 of the $1M goal.