Can a financial commitment truly revive faith? Khachkar Studios is betting that it can—but only if the money comes with a plan. With its $100 million revitalization initiative, the studio is seeking to do more than fund tradition—it aims to transform the future of the Armenian Church in the United States through strategy, structure, and bold accountability.
The campaign is built around a sobering reality. Across the country, Armenian churches are struggling. Weekly attendance has plummeted. Bible engagement is at a historic low. Most high value-add role model programs are defunct or nonexistent. Rather than guess at solutions, Khachkar Studios commissioned a detailed diagnostic of the church ecosystem, resulting in the “U.S. Armenian Christian Ecosystem 12 Body Parts” model.
This systems-based framework, developed with 69 years of data, revealed a painful truth: 11 of the 12 Body Parts are underperforming, some catastrophically. The 12 Body Parts include: philanthropic support, religious content across the spectrum of media, regular Sunday attendance, school students, bible studies, management, and leadership training. The Church is faltering not for lack of belief—but for lack of systems.
To correct this, Khachkar is selecting up to 37 pilot churches and ministries to receive between $300,000 and $400,000in funding. Each participant must craft a reform strategy by choosing from an eight-activity menu, addressing key weaknesses in their ecosystem. Some may build media studios, others may launch high value-add role model discipleship tracks, improve sermon design, or establish Bible literacy programs.
But this is not a check-and-forget project. Each church will be supported by senior managers contributing with 5,000 hours of pro bono management support over five years, to guide project implementation, help measure impact, and troubleshoot as reforms progress.
The initiative is driven by three bold goals: double the “Faithful” weekly attendees from 12,894 to 27,847, expand daily Bible readers from 1,000 to 41,423, and achieve a 6.1x SROI (Social Return On Investment). These aren’t hopes—they’re tracked benchmarks, tied directly to the plan’s structure and funding metrics.
Complementing these efforts is a massive media campaign under Khachkar’s “Good News” label. The studio will produce 25 times the Christian content output of all other Armenian institutions combined— including seven “Good News” workstreams: 1. Short-clips, 2. Podcasts, 3. Analyses, 4. Written Content, 5. Events, 6. News, and 7. Music — focused on platforms where lost generations of Armenians actually spend their time.
More than a rescue, this initiative is a redesign. It recognizes that faith without form is fragile—and gives churches the tools to build anew. If they accept.
