Does Charging People to Hear the Gospel Devalue the Message of Salvation?
Meanwhile, in California, more than 10,000 congregants flock the five locations of the Los Angeles-based Shepherd Church on any given weekend, and with an annual budget of $12 million, executive pastor Tim Winters says all events hosted by the church are free.
"We don't charge anything," said Winters, who has been a staff member at Shepherd for 23 years. "It's in our budget, which is made of tithes and offerings from people who give to the church and we just budget for that."
Some of Shepherd's events include a Fourth of July celebration that attracts up to 65,000 people as well as an Easter service that draws up to 21,000 attendees. The church also offers free classes on topics ranging from finance management to preparing for marriage.
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"We wanted people to know that the church here loves them and cares about them, that we're here for them if they ever need anything. We're not just in it to make money. It's just a decision we made a long time ago, it never will [change]," Winters explained.
Winters noted, however, that he does not see a problem with other churches charging for large-scale events.
"I'm not against [charging for events,]" he said. "Large entities like Joel Osteen [of Lakewood Church] or Hillsong — Joel is the one I know the best. He has an event in New York at a big arena where they charge tickets to get in. When you rent an arena like that, it costs lots and lots of money. I would understand charging maybe the cost, but I wouldn't understand a charge on top of that."
RUSH (Reaching Unchurched Students for Him), recently took place in Meansville, Georgia, and featured celebrity speakers such as "Duck Dynasty" star Sadie Robertson and Christian rapper Lecrae with a $25 price tag.
Marc Pritchett, founder of RUSH Ministries who hosted the event, told CP that the cover charge was about "stepping in faith."
"We don't have employees, we operate off of volunteers; it's just been all God. Quite frankly, I don't think anyone can take credit for it," said Pritchett of the May 9 event, which took place on RUSH Ministries' newly-acquired property.
"About 10 months ago, God called me to start a church out of RUSH," continued Pritchett. "I looked at an old abandoned golf course in Meansville, and I was looking at the club house and maybe a couple acres. And the owner of the property asked me, 'What would you do if you could get all 300-plus acres, the lakes, the golf course, the whole thing?' I laughed and said, 'I don't have any money, I don't even know how I'm going do the clubhouse.' And he said, 'Well, tell me what you would do if you could,'" said Pritchett.
"I just started rattling off a vision that I guess was buried inside of me. I said I would have a full retreat center; we would have retreats and events and summer camps, and we would reach the lost and the troubled, conferences, the whole thing. He looked at me and said, 'Let's make this happen.' We started moving forward, [and] we got 385 acres. From a financial standpoint, we are still trying to pay for it all, and we're stepping in faith," he added.
