Should churches own sports domes or housing developments?
Posted on 25. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in religion
Watch out, local businesspeople: your local church may be your next competitor. According to Friday’s NYTimes article, Megachurches Add Local Economy to Their Mission, some U.S. megachurches are starting for-profit business ventures.
An analysis by The New York Times of the online public records of just over 1,300 of these giant churches shows that their business interests are as varied as basketball schools, aviation subsidiaries, investment partnerships and a limousine service.
At least 10 own and operate shopping centers, and some financially formidable congregations are adding residential developments to their holdings. In one such elaborate project, LifeBridge Christian Church, near Longmont, Colo., plans a 313-acre development of upscale homes, retail and office space, a sports arena, housing for the elderly and church buildings.
Unlike a missionary, who may help indigenous people start their own businesses as a way to be self-sufficient, these businesses are designed to make money for the church. Assuming that the church pays appropriate taxes for their for-profit arms, it sounds like a good way for a church to raise money to do other good works besides just hitting up their members. (See the Wall Street Journal article The Backlash Against Tithing for why that’s getting tougher.)
And yet, something about this rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps it’s because it dilutes the mission of the church, or because it makes the church look like an exclusive investment club. Or perhaps it seems like a risky use of funds, but then again many churches by definition are a risky use of funds. It also bugs me that the church would compete against locals whom they seek to serve.
Any thoughts? Does this trend sound ok to you?
I think it was in Time that an article on heavier scrutiny, legistlatively, is on track for these mega churches. Having grown up in the Bible Belt, I have a healthy scrutiny for bogus-ness. Off-shore accounts? That would raise a big flag.
I agree with your critic on this. microbusiness investment – because it empowers and impacts quality of life at the poverty level – is one thing. But I’m not sure if the mission of the church is to be a financial profit center.
Even if – a big if – all of the for-profit profits are being invested in efforts that benefit people outside of the church – the lost, the least & the last, the poor, etc. That would at least give me pause, but I’m still not sure if that doesn’t reduce the goal of tithing to a production capacity kind of thing.
Similar critics are made of new building funds…