A $10+ million turning point
Khachkar Studios launches historically unprecedented pilot to revive Armenian Church life in the U.S.
On April 11, 2025, Khachkar Studios unveiled a transformative $10+ million pilot program aimed at revitalizing the spiritual life of Armenian churches across the United States. In a bold and historically unprecedented move, the initiative seeks to strengthen faith, leadership and community through a carefully designed framework rooted in Christian teachings and modern management principles.
This announcement comes at a critical moment for the Armenian Christian community. Data compiled by Khachkar Studios in 2024 revealed that just 13,000 Armenian Americans attend non-holiday Badarak (Sunday services outside major holidays) — a mere 3% of the estimated U.S. Armenian population. This statistic ranks the Armenian Church near the bottom among 24 Orthodox Christian denominations in the country.
To combat this spiritual disengagement, Khachkar Studios has identified 37 churches as potential Pilot Churches. These churches will be evaluated based on their ability to implement targeted strategies that increase KPI #1 — growth in non-holiday Badarak faithful — and generate strong Social Return on Investment (SROI).
Each selected church will receive between $40,000 and $80,000 annually, equivalent to 100 Sunday donation days or a $1 million endowment for an average parish. This funding is designed to support eight church-based activities detailed in the Pilot Briefing Packet published in April 2025. Activities include Bible study, outreach visits, role model training and Good News media creation, with estimated time commitments totaling just six hours per week, shared among parishioners.
Khachkar Studios is motivated by the parable of the talents — “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much” — and insists that each dollar be used to produce measurable spiritual results. Churches will be guided to answer one overarching question in their decision-making: What is the SROI, and how does it rank relative to Armenian and non-Armenian benchmarks?
The initiative also addresses a second critical gap: minimal media investment by Armenian churches in the U.S. To correct this, Khachkar Studios will outspend all Armenian churches in the country combined — by more than 25 times — across seven work streams: short clips, podcasts, written content, events, music, news and analyses.
The Pilot Briefing Packet includes anonymized performance data for the 37 churches and a consolidated financial statement for all 164 Armenian churches and ecclesiastical centers nationwide, which collectively spend approximately $30 million annually.
Khachkar Studios is affiliated with the Charles & Agnes Kazarian Foundation, JI Analytics and Japonica Partners. Its mission is to empower churches to grow “The Faithful” through education, media and strategic support — redefining what impactful Christian philanthropy can look like in the 21st century.
Khachkar Studios
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