Should churches charge their members for events? -- Tony Capoccia

I'm really struggling with the fact that almost every time I open my church bulletin there is a festivity going on...(no problem)...but tagged along the end of the paragraph is.......$10.00 workbook, $8.00 T-Shirt, $3.50 meal, Singing Christmas Tree Tickets $10.00 per person, Ladies Banquet $8.00 for ticket...and the list goes on.....endlessly. Where does it stop? And what about the people who want to attend those functions who financially haven't the means.....so they walk away.....feeling ostracized........It seems the Church is no longer a Hospital for sinners but a Holy Club for saints. Please give me some insight on this. Didn't Jesus say, "Freely you have receive then freely shall you give."

I completely agree with you on this. I think it is really incredible that they ask for all these fees and still take an offering. One would think that the offering would be used for the church's various ministries both to the unsaved and to the saints. We were once at a church that wanted $25 for our family to attend their annual picnic, and we were members! I believe that too many churches see themselves as a business and not as a ministry of Christ. There may be times when the church plans an outing to a local restaurant or location where there is an individual charge, but even then it would seem appropriate to discreetly pay for those who cannot afford to go. I have also seen churches that have little fund raisers that provide the money for events. For example, a church that has a "Bake Sale" and the money is used to pay for the Youth Group to go on a weekend retreat. In this case the youth are not charged for the event.