It was one of those “Gotcha!” statements. “Imagine what the government could do with the tax money they ought to be collecting from churches.” The implication, of course, was that churches are financial shelters for ministers or other moralistic phonies to build their wealth and keep from sharing it with their neighbors. I responded with, “Taxes? You really think the government will use our money better than we do?” It was then my joy to share some facts about what churches do with the vast fortunes at their disposal.

There is obviously a deep misunderstanding regarding how much revenue is being “lost” because churches don’t pay taxes.  I would suggest that the benefit that a community receives from an active church congregation far outweighs any dollars they would make in the taxes a church would be obligated to pay.  Churches fall squarely into the definition of a non-profit entity.  They do not sell a product, nor do they charge for the services and ministry they give.  Their members give offerings to support the work the church does in the community and in the greater world. 

Exactly what benefits does a community receive from an active church congregation?  I am the pastor of a medium-sized church in a very small southern town (population less than 2,000), and yet my church operates a regular soup kitchen ministry, started our local food pantry, houses our local Boy Scout troop, hosts the court-appointed substance abuse and anger management support groups, hosts a cancer patient and caregiver support group, provides ministry for our military veterans and our local law enforcement officers, meets immediate needs for children and families through a generous benevolence program, provides immediate care items for disaster victims in our area (a tornado hot-zone), and gives a substantial percentage of our receipts to other relief and missions organizations that are doing these things on a national and global scale.  Of course, this is in addition to the spiritual teaching and help we’re able to provide.  And we’re just a medium-sized congregation with around 175 worshipers on Sundays.  Smaller churches likely still do at least a couple of these things in their own communities, and larger churches may do much more. 

Our church and ministry team tackle some of the troubles that our small community is not equipped to handle, or which would be swamped in government bureaucracy.  If our town charged us property taxes, for instance, they might make a couple thousand dollars a year in revenue.  That would equal a couple thousand dollars of community ministry left undone – families that go hungry, disaster victims that go unhelped, and troubled families that don’t get counseling.  Our community (and many others) are wise enough to see that the benefit they receive from an active church congregation far outweighs the tax dollars they might otherwise take in.  Government is notoriously wasteful; but individuals, businesses, and non-profits tend to make each dollar accomplish much more.  We can – and do – accomplish much more with the dollars entrusted to us than any local, state, or national government ever could.  That equals more people truly helped in our community.

God bless the ministries of His Churches!