Donations

[TheTexan]

So my wife and I were going to the mall today, and we must have driven by 8 of these brand new HUGE MEGA churches. Considering the fact, that we don't really attend church, I was just curious how these churches pull in so much money. I could understand they could have large programs like camps and stuff, but it just doesn't add up. Can anyone shed any light on this topic?

[geffklusner]

actually i have a similar problem, can anyone here for help.

[gackle]

Some churches go into debt while others prefer the more financially responsible and Biblical way of raising funds, then building. Our church, while not a mega church, is close to it and won't go into debt to build. On the other hand, my parents church is nowhere near a megachurch, but went into large debt with the attitude of "if we build it they will come" in order to build a larger sanctuary. It hasn't worked for them and now their church is hurting financially. I can't speak for other megachurches, but obviously the more people that attend the more money the church receives. And costs essentialy remain the same for a church no matter how many people attend.

Without trying to state the obvious, if a church attracts a middle to upper class congretation then hypothetically there should be giving in higher amounts. You've also got more attendees that have the ability to leave large inheritances to their church.

[mom-from-missouri]

In the Bible you read that one should give back 10% to the church or more. It also states that if you give you will be blessed 7 fold (times 7) if you give in the correct frame of heart and mind. Most Christians believe this and have found it to be true. So, they give.
As for "camps" we don't make money on church camp. Those kids who can pay do, but we don't turn down kids who can not pay. The fees they pay cover the utilities and part of the food they eat during the week. All of our staff is volunteer. We figured out once it cost us $140 a week per camper. Yet, our campers pay $70 a week. For that $70 they get instructional and craft materials, daily swimming, 3 snacks, 3 meals, games, entertainment, round the clock care, nurse on staff, movies, their own Bible to keep and a notebook, camp shirt......
Camps are not a money maker-in fact the offering given helps to support the camp.
My church is not a mega church. We run around 100 each Sunday. We take in enough to support our church needs and our missionaries. We also help in our local community. Right now we are helping a single parent family get an apartment and utilities. They are not members of our church-but we are to love and help all--not just our own members.

[TheTexan]

Thanks for the replies. I know that many of these churches really do give a lot in and to their communities. There must be a lot of generous attendees who also must give a lot of time and dedication to these programs in order to keep costs down. I am betting this has a lot to do with the success or failure of a specific church. Once again, thanks.

[PrincessPerky]

Oh I wish it were all sweet here like for Missouri.

I go to a medium church..most of the folk are higher income..they don't see why we wont help with their angel tree buying 50-100 dollar gifts I don't spend that on my own kids..but with those folk sending in less than their 10% the church still makes well more than the old hometown mini church with most parishioners on SS checks...so we have spare loot and a big building here, while there they can barely pay the heat.

On the other hand I have been to real mega churches with book stores and coffee shops and pay soccer leagues and where you have to pay for the Christmas pageant....sure they had better acting than our medium church, but..well my church has my kid in it , oh and a Sunday service is free...so is the coffee.

So I guess the answer to how they do it depends on the church, some do it by the grace of God ... the gifts of time and money from willing folk....

Others do it the same way the mall does it.... by having the coolest stuff and maximizing their earning potential.. which is also by the 'gifts' of willing folk... Walmart didn't steal your money to be a mega store, and neither does a mega church steal money. they just use what they are given.

[sweeps]

Many of these megachurches are for-profit businesses. The owners/ministers make easily 6-, if not 7-figure salaries. Very fancy cars, private planes, elaborate vacations, political power. It's not about God, it's about the money. If people want to contribute to these ministers' cause, that's fine, nothing I can do about it, but revoke their tax-exempt status. My tax dollars shouldn't go to paying for someone's private plane.

Ok, there's my rant... go ahead and strike me down.

[DayByDay]

First, I'd like to point out that not all Christians believe Christian tithing to be a correct teaching.

I've attended many churches over time, and I've observed that the large expensive-looking churches seem to always heavily teach tithing. Right off the top of my head I can name at least four churches that decided to build new, extremely expensive churchplexes (don't know what else to call them...a sanctuary plus other buildings) by building first and hoping the money will come in and pay for it later. When the money doesn't come in, the congregation is subjected to frequent high-pressure sermons on tithing.

One of the churches ended up not even using it's $6million classroom building they built because they were forced to rent out the rooms to help cover the mortgage. Many in the church left because they were so disgusted with the debacle, and the head pastor resigned.

Another church I visited had a new, huge, luxurious sanctuary made of top of the line materials and equipment. Even the restroom looked like a 5-star restroom for rich people with expensive tile, etc. (My DH is a contractor so we are pretty familiar with the cost of different materials.) Is that quite enough for them? No. The pastor makes an announcement that an adjacent piece of land is up for sale, and he believes the church should purchase it for whatever the owner is asking "in case we might need it in the future." He admits that the budget is already tight because of the mortgage for the newly built church, but he wants that land anyway. That was my last visit to that church.

I attend a small church now that doesn't subject me to tithing sermons, is on a small well-managed budget, operates on a cash basis, and is not focused on material things but on using as much of their income as possible to help people who are truly in need.

[cptacek]

Yes, they preach "give, give, give". My sister goes to one of those churches, and I have gone twice to the (gatherings? rock concerts? miracle sessions? the Holy Spirit smack down? I don't know what to call it.) Each time it was about 3 hours long and about 1.5 hours of that was the preacher telling them to give money.

[boefixepa]

I really like the way my church does it. We do believe in a 10% tithe, and we get maybe two 10-15 minute talks (we don't have a pastors, church members are given topics and then they prepare and give a talk on it) each year in the course of subjects. You'll get more talks on being Christlike then tithing. Now the church is world wide and does have tons of meeting houses, but they keep them a functional size. No congregation has more then a few hundred members and max three congregations at each building. They stagger the start times for each congregation. Congregations are determined geographically. Each building has the funds for completion in the bank before it starts, there is never any debt. Temples are much more elaborate, but there are only about 100 of them throughout the world. And again, they money is in the bank before they even started. We have a tithing settlement with the bishop each year where we go in and let him know if our tithing is considered full or part. It takes all of five minutes to compare records and make sure what I have and what they have match and then 'yes' its full or 'no it's a parital tithe'. I've personally never felt any pressure, but that's me, I know others have. But I think it's more of a personal pressure, not one from a person or a leader.

[Coleroo]

I grew up in 2 churches at once - a large 1400 member baptist one (i attended their school) and a small 40-in-attendance-on-sunday pentecostal one (my uncle is the pastor). Both churches teach tithing as based from the book of malichi and "giving to the Lord's work" although I never felt pressure from either church. the baptist church had been around for 20+ years and felt it was getting overcrowded and decided to build a new church.... the board decided on the needed price, materials, etc and over 6 years past with a donations board in view showing if we reached our goal. finally the 3 million in donations was reached, and the large beautiful sanctuary was built free and clear...the church is now 30+ years old.

our pentecostal church, which will be 20 years next year took on half of the building expenses in mortgage when we moved from a strip-mall storefront and expanded to a newly built little country church 10 years ago.

so building expenses is taken on in a variety of ways...

as far as donations, i have found that the people who do give, do so out of their heart and their personal beliefs on giving - not because they feel forced to. Some members in our pentecostal church make 100+ a year easily and give well more than their 10%. others make close to nothing and still give... some give nothing at all. I've never seen or heard of anyone being threatened or talked down to for not giving - its supposed to be a very private affair between you, God, and the treasurer, although i can't vouch for other churches.

i know for myself, it is a very personal belief - i feel guilty when i cant give something to my church..they do so much for us without charging for anything and they're like my family. i feel its my responsibility to give something in return to keep our fellowship going. i also feel very selfish when i keep all of my good fortune to myself and dont share it in some way with the community or church.