Shepherding trust is the whole job, so start there
In most professions, a referral is a business courtesy. In ministry it is something closer to pastoral counsel. When a deacon who owns a landscaping company tells you his crew is idle, or a young couple who just opened a bakery asks you after the service who could help with their website, they are speaking to you because of who you are in their community. That trust was not built to be monetized, and nothing on this page asks you to treat it that way.
What this program offers is narrower and more honest. Church administrators and ministry leaders are often bi-vocational or modestly paid, and they know a remarkable number of business owners. When one of those owners comes to you personally with a business problem, you can point them to a team that solves it, tell them plainly that you may earn a referral fee, and let them decide. If that feels wrong in your setting, it is fine to close this page.
Lines a ministry leader should never cross
Because the relationship is pastoral, the boundaries need to be clear and written down before you ever share a link. These are the minimum standards we ask every church-connected partner to hold:
- Never mention Random Income or any service from the pulpit, in a sermon, a bulletin, a newsletter or a church social account.
- Never use the member directory, the church management database, giving records or prayer lists to find or contact anyone.
- Never approach someone during pastoral care, counselling, a hospital visit or a crisis.
- Refer only people who ask you for business help, in a personal setting, and only with their permission.
- Always disclose that you may earn a referral fee, and that the church has no part in it.
The church's policy and your denomination come first
Many churches have personnel policies on outside employment and conflicts of interest, and some denominations or networks have their own expectations for clergy and staff. Elders, a session, a vestry, a finance committee or a senior pastor may need to approve paid outside work. Read your handbook and your covenant or call agreement, then ask the appropriate leader in writing. Keep the answer.
Partner accounts on Random Income are for individuals only. The church cannot hold an account, and commissions go to you personally, reported on a 1099-NEC with your W-9. That separation protects the congregation and protects you. Churches are tax-exempt, and church assets, lists and platforms should never be used for anyone's private benefit.
If you are a minister with a housing allowance or special tax status, outside income can have its own tax treatment. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Talk to your CPA or a tax professional who works with clergy, and to your church's counsel if anything is unclear.
Where a referral genuinely helps a business owner in your community
Congregations are full of small businesses: contractors, dentists, salons, family restaurants, insurance agencies, auto repair shops. Their owners often struggle with the same thing, which is being found and remembered by the customers they would most like to serve. The services in our stack that fit those conversations are practical ones:
- contacts.plus Business: a business presence, trusted referrals and a relationship CRM for owners who grow by word of mouth.
- Quuik: gets a local business cited when people ask AI and answer engines who to call.
- KeywordCalls: live high-intent phone calls on a keyword, for service businesses that win on the phone.
- Smart Email from siimpler.com: warm opted-in email that keeps a business in touch with customers who already know it.
A permission-first way to answer when someone asks
Most of the time, you will not raise this at all. The opening comes from the other person, usually after a meeting or over lunch: business is slow, the phones are quiet, a competitor seems to be everywhere online. Your first response should be the same one you would give without any program, which is to listen and ask what they have tried.
If a referral genuinely fits, ask before you share anything. Something like: I know a team that helps local businesses get found and get calls. Would you like me to send you their information? I should tell you that I may receive a referral fee if you sign up, and that this has nothing to do with the church.
If they say yes, send the link from your personal phone or email, never from a church account. If they say no, drop it completely and do not raise it again. Never follow up through church channels, never mention it in front of others and never let it shape how you treat them in ministry.
It also helps to keep a short personal log of who you referred and when. If anyone on staff or in leadership ever asks, you can show exactly what happened, and the answer will always be the same: they asked, you disclosed, they chose.
How it works and how the commission is figured
You take a free test about your strengths and the hours you have; most ministry leaders have about two focused hours a week, and some weeks none at all, which is fine. The matching engine shows the best-fit opportunity, and you receive a profile page, a share link and a private back office. When someone asks you for business help and gives you permission, you send the link or upload the referral. Random Income handles discovery, the proposal, delivery and support. You can see the clicks, forms and quote requests on each referral.
Strategic Partners are 1099 independent contractors, never employees. On stack products you earn 12–20% of retail calculated on redline: 20% when the client buys entirely online, 12% when an in-house Random Income rep works the deal, and pro-rata to redline if we negotiate the price. Recurring commissions last as long as the client keeps paying; refunds and chargebacks are deducted. When a business posts its own offer, you earn 50% of what it pays us. Payouts run on the 21st of the month after we are paid, once your balance reaches $500.
We believe the future is built on unique people and unique data. In a church, the unique people come first, and the data stays exactly where it belongs.