The Rev. Nicholas Batzig knows there are plenty of churches to choose from in the Coastal Empire.
But that hasn't stopped him from starting a new one.
After all, not all churches are created equal, he said.
"A lot of people say it doesn't matter which church you go to as long as you're sincere," he said. "We say, 'No, doctrine does matter, because the Bible teaches doctrine. That doesn't mean we think we're the only true church, but we do care deeply about the doctrine the scripture teaches."
Batzig is among dozens of area religious leaders who have taken on the daunting task of starting a new Christian congregation in recent years.
With hundreds of churches in Chatham County alone, new congregations are challenged to set themselves apart.
Batzig was recruited last year by local ministers affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America to start a new congregation in Richmond Hill.
He believes New Covenant Presbyterian Church is setting itself apart from other area churches through its "new Calvinistic" theology and its book-by-book, text-by-text, orthodox interpretation of the Bible.
Getting that message out has required some good business sense, an entrepreneurial spirit and a deep commitment to faith, he said.
Much of the work has fallen entirely on him. Quickly after moving from Philadelphia, he opened bank accounts, launched a Web site and developed a business model.
The supporting ministers promised to cover Batzig's full-time salary for at least a year while he recruited members. Some shared their mailing lists and allowed Batzig to preach in their pulpits.
"With coming into a new place, not knowing anybody, the number one thing people said to me was, 'People need to hear you preach, and so you need a platform for that," Batzig said.
"Compared to someone who just comes in not knowing anyone whatsoever, I have the advantage of churches talking about this new work."
Many new church planters don't have financial support from "mother churches" or national denominations.
Pastor Chris Hunt had no money in 2006 when he started LifeBridge Church. What he did have was management experience as a former vice-president of a wireless communications company.
"It's like starting your own corporation," Hunt said about starting a church. "You have to be very good at visioning, very good at budgeting and knowing what your expenses are going to be."
"Visioning" has involved focusing the church's mission on a specific audience and being able to explain it to others, he said.
LifeBridge Church aims to reach out to islands residents with negative associations with church, or none at all.
Part of making church more inviting for them has involved holding services at the Islands YMCA. Worshippers sit in folding chairs and the service is led by a full-piece band, complete with drums, electric guitars and keyboards.
"This isn't a traditional church," Hunt said. "Everything we do is with someone in mind who doesn't go to church."
Never too many
Despite the competition, Dwight Guy believes there is plenty of room for more churches.
"Even though it appears that we have so many churches, the truth is that there are 2,800 people in the South for every church in existence," said Guy, associational missionary for the Savannah Baptist Association.
Pollsters such as Pew Research, Gallup and Barna Group have reported 38 to 47 percent of Americans claim they attend church services on a regular basis.
Some believe the actual numbers are much lower than that.
The North American Mission Board, the missionary arm of the Southern Baptists, reports that in 2004, less than 18 percent of Americans were actually attending a Christian church service on any given weekend.
That's down from about 20 percent in 1990, according to the study.
"The Savannah Baptist Association is serious about helping to start new congregations, because we view church planting as another way to reach a vast population with the gospel."
One of those new congregations is Canvas Church.
Four families largely from West Ridge Church in the Dallas suburb, west of Atlanta, moved to Savannah in 2008 and quickly launched the congregation with the goal of reaching out to young, creative adults in downtown Savannah.
The group chose the Carmike Cinema on Stephenson Avenue partly for its central location and proximity to a familiar landmark, the Oglethorpe Mall.
"It's been a little bit of trial-and-error with the location," said lead pastor Doug Garvin. "In Atlanta, people don't mind driving across the city, because that's what they do. In Savannah, it's not so much that way."
Over time, leaders discovered many worshippers were driving in from west Chatham County. In November, the congregation announced that it's moving services to West Chatham Elementary School in January.
"What we're going to do is go and build a group of people and long term, make it back into the city," Garvin said. "Whether that's through a multi-campus or a mission, I don't know."
Only about 68 percent of all new churches survive more than four years, according to a 2007 study by the North American Mission Board.
Churches who provided leadership training to members and established a plan for tithing and stewardship had better chances of survival than other churches, according to the report.
Six years after starting Savannah Vineyard Church, Pastor Kent Moore still leads worship services in rented space at the Habersham Street YMCA.
Moore said the congregation isn't in as much of a hurry to find its own space as it is to spread Christian faith.
Even with a modest budget and around 120 attendees a week, Savannah Vineyard is starting a "child" church in Richmond Hill.
Moore believes the newness of a new church often attracts members who aren't satisfied with their past church experiences.
"There might be a need for a fresh expression of the same faith," he said.
"New churches tend to have that pioneer zeal to them. It's something new."