Grace Community Church's Online Merch Store Funds Their Community Outreach Program
A 1,200-member church moved beyond selling merch at events — and discovered that their most enthusiastic buyers were members who couldn't even make it to Sunday service.
$6,800
Sales in first 6 months
23%
Orders from out-of-state
3
Outreach events funded
The Challenge
Grace Community Church had a loyal, engaged congregation — including a few hundred members who had moved away over the years but still identified deeply with the church community. Every fall they ran a merch table at church events: t-shirts, tote bags, a hoodie or two. The table did fine. But it only worked for the people who showed up.
Out-of-state members — former members who had moved, college students, snowbirds — repeatedly asked if they could buy the church hoodie they'd seen in photos online. The answer was always "not really."
The church's community coordinator had looked at a few e-commerce options, but nothing felt right — too complicated, too expensive, required managing inventory, or didn't connect with an apparel partner. They needed something designed for organizations selling custom branded apparel, not a general purpose store.
The Solution
Their local screen printer connected them with SpreeShop. The setup was simple: a permanent store with the church's colors and logo, stocked with 8 core products. No inventory to manage — every item was ordered on demand by the apparel partner when a purchase came in.
For special events — Vacation Bible School, the annual mission trip fundraiser, and the church's 25th anniversary — they used SpreeShop's campaign mode. Campaign stores run for a set window (2–3 weeks), let the apparel partner batch the order, and close automatically when the window ends. The anniversary campaign alone brought in over $2,000.
The fundraising percentage was set at 20% across all fan merchandise. SpreeShop tracked every sale and calculated the church's portion automatically — no manual accounting needed.
How Churches Use SpreeShop
Always-Open Store
A permanent online store with your core branded items — available 24/7, year-round. Perfect for ongoing membership merchandise and gifts.
Campaign Mode (Event Stores)
A time-limited campaign for a specific event — VBS, mission trip, anniversary. Opens and closes automatically, batches cleanly for your apparel partner.
Our members wanted to show they belonged to something. SpreeShop let us give them that — beautifully, and without any of the headaches we expected.
Community Coordinator, Grace Community Church
The Results
$6,800
Merchandise sales in 6 months
23%
Orders from out-of-state members
3
Outreach events funded by proceeds
$0
Inventory to manage or store
Perhaps the most surprising discovery: nearly a quarter of all orders came from members who were physically outside the state. Former members, college students, seasonal attendees — people who identified as part of the Grace community but had no way to buy church gear before. The store gave them a way to participate.
How It Worked — Step by Step
Ongoing Store Created
The church set up a permanent SpreeShop store with branded apparel — t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and tote bags.
Event Campaign Launched
For special events (VBS, mission trips, church anniversary), a campaign mode pop-up ran for 2 weeks alongside the always-open store.
Shared in Bulletin & Email
The store link was included in the weekly bulletin, email newsletter, and announced from the stage on Sundays.
Members Order From Anywhere
Local and remote members ordered online. Out-of-state members could finally participate — 23% of orders came from outside their state.
Fundraising Tracked Automatically
SpreeShop calculated the fundraising percentage on each order. The apparel partner remitted the balance to the church monthly.
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