When bootstrapping your own church or other religious organization, just like when starting a small business, finding the people to participate can be the biggest challenge.

Though in the case of a non-profit religious group, it is members of a congregation and volunteers rather than customers that you seek.

Still, when starting from scratch the principles remain pretty much the same and today, particularly on line, there are a number of free and cool tools to get you started.

No matter what your denomination, sect or religion, finding others who share your spiritual viewpoint can be as simple as turning to a popular site like MeetUp.

As the website's "about" page suggests:

Meetup.com helps people find others who share their interest or cause, and form lasting, influential, local community groups that regularly meet face-to-face.

The site enables users to either select a field of interest and location or search other interests and locations already available on the MeetUp website.

MeetUp also contacts users in your area and helps arrange meetings with others who share your interests.

There are other internet resources that can help bring together people of like interest in your local community, including those sharing similar religious or spiritual beliefs.

For example, members of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Pagan Fellowship used a Yahoo! group to gather followers of numerous neopagan traditions and now celebrate solstice and other important holidays together.

Other sites like MSN offer similar group features perfect for locating others who share your beliefs. Using the proper discretion and setting initial meetings in public places can make uniting a group of believers both inexpensive and simple.