Why Does New Community Church Charge for Events? (March 30, 2009)

I was recently asked why we charge for events such as mid-week Bible studies, social events, summer camps at the church, etc. There are at least a couple reasons why we follow this practice and I hope this explanation helps. While you read this, please keep in mind that there are many things we typically do not charge for (e.g., childcare during many meetings). In addition, when we do charge for events, we typically either do not cover all our costs or just barely cover the costs.

Every church has its own culture. I have only been at new Community Church for 10 months, so I cannot relate to you the long history of how charging for events started. I do know that we came out of Orchard Hill, a church with very similar policies and practices. So part of the explanation is culture.

Another part of the issue is related to the discipline of spiritual practices, specifically tithing. I came from a Baptist background where Biblical tithing (a full 10% of gross income) is taught from a very early age. Here at New Community, many in our membership come from a Catholic background or non-churched background where this is not the case. Biblical tithing is a new concept to them. When a large portion of your membership is doing Biblical tithing, the costs of many of your programs (mid-week Bible studies, summer kids camps, etc.) can be covered as part of the operating budget funded out of the freewill offering. Unfortunately, this is not the case at most contemporary, non-denominational churches.

As we grow as a church, both in quantity of members, as well as in depth of spiritual walk, the need for charging extra for programs should diminish. In the meantime, please be aware that we always provide “scholarships” for any adult or child who wants to be in one of these programs, but who cannot afford it financially. I hope this helps. Thanks for asking the questions and feel free to contact me via email or phone if you need more explanation or scholarship assistance with one of the programs (e.g., KidZone’s Backyard Bash).


Please comment below or email me at csonger@new-communitychurch.org