What happens when a centuries-old institution begins to break down—not from outside attack, but from within? That is the question Khachkar Studios is answering with its landmark $100 million initiative to revive the Armenian Church in the United States. But rather than appeal to nostalgia or sentimentality, the project takes a different approach: it treats the Church like a complex ecosystem in need of structural repair.
At the heart of this bold effort is the “U.S. Armenian Christian Ecosystem 12 Body Parts” model. Developed over 69 years of data, the model identifies twelve essential components that a healthy church must maintain. These “Body Parts” include: philanthropic support, religious content across the spectrum of media, regular Sunday attendance, school students, bible studies, management, and leadership training.
Khachkar’s research revealed a sobering reality: 11 out of 12 of these Body Parts are critically underperforming in Armenian churches across the United States. In comparison to similar Orthodox and Christian institutions, many Armenian parishes rank in the bottom decile for high value-add role model retention, pastoral engagement, volunteer leadership, and use of digital tools.
Instead of issuing vague calls for reform, Khachkar Studios has built a step-by-step strategy for measurable change. The studio will fund up to 37 pilot churches or ministries, each receiving between $300,000 and $400,000 to implement a tailored transformation plan. The key lies in an eight-activity “Pilot Menu”—a curated set of interventions addressing specific weaknesses. These include launching high value-add role model focused programs, building digital Bible study platforms, retraining clergy in sermon delivery, and producing high-impact Christian media.
Read also
Crucially, this is not a hands-off grant program. Every participating church will receive ongoing implementation support from a management team offering 5,000 hours of senior management world-class benchmarking and management excellence. These senior managers will assist in building action plans, setting measurable goals, and refining strategies based on real-time feedback.
The initiative has three primary goals. First, to double the number of “Faithful” weekly church attendees, increasing the figure from 12,894 to 27,847. Second, to raise daily Bible readers from just 1,000 to 41,423—a transformation that would dramatically shift Armenian Christian spiritual habits from passive observance to active daily devotion. Third, achieve a 6.1x SROI (social return on investment).
To support this shift, Khachkar Studios is also launching the “Good News” campaign—an ambitious media strategy that will produce 25 times more content than all other Armenian Christian organizations in the U.S. combined. This will include seven “Good News” workstreams: 1. Short-clips, 2. Podcasts, 3. Analyses, 4. Written Content, 5. Events, 6. News, and 7. Music, all designed to connect with micro-targeted audiences.
The $100 million plan is not just about resuscitation—it’s about resurrection. It recognizes that while faith remains strong in many hearts, the structures designed to nurture that faith have grown fragile. Through systems-based change, measurable goals, and a vision of media-savvy ministry, Khachkar Studios is offering the Armenian Church something it has not seen in decades: a credible, funded, and executable blueprint for survival and renewal.
Khachkar Studios
