Financial help is on the way for small businesses and nonprofits, and that includes Christian ministries and churches. But at least one ministry is going to pass on the offer.
Crown Financial Ministries‘ goal is to teach Christians how to manage their resources so they can make the greatest impact possible for the kingdom of heaven. CEO Chuck Bentley says they could use the money, but no, thank you.
“While there’s nothing wrong with taking the money, I think long term people are going to look back on it and say, ‘I don’t think we should have done that,’ and I think it will be used as fodder to potentially argue that our type of organization should not be tax-exempt going forward,” Bentley explains.
Christian attorney Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute says Crown is not necessarily wrong to turn down a government handout.
“It’s normal for churches to be very suspect whenever accepting any financial contributions or assistance from the government,” Dacus comments. “There’s deep ideological and even theological concerns that many have.”
There are, however, some safeguards in this specific government aid, and for some churches and non-profits, Dacus says it may be their only chance to stay solvent.
“I believe that the Church should be cautiously open to any avenues and any resources that come along to help further the kingdom,” he tells OneNewsNow. “That said, we also need to be very careful never to become dependent on the government in a long-term relationship.”
Dacus is planning a conference call for pastors this Thursday where he will go into detail about the pros and cons of taking the government handout.
—-
Copyright American Family News. Reprinted with permission.
Recent Comments