Churches Must Demonstrate Responsibility Amidst Covid-19

What should be the role of the church in this Covid-19 pandemic? Should churches continue to demand tithe and offering in the midst of this crisis from members? What did Jesus do when 5,000 men were faced with hunger crisis on the mountain, did he feed them or he demanded tithes and offerings from them? At the time when people's relatives are dying of covid-19, should the church be demanding money because they do Facebook live streaming and radio preaching?

There were alot of crisis in the Bible, famine, wars, pestilences and plaques. There is no where in the Bible that in the midst of crisis men of God or God himself demanded monies from his children Israel to continue to promote the work of God or to avert the crisis on his people. Any man of God vested in the scriptures should come and prove me wrong. What God sought for was rather for his people to turn back to him in repentance so he can heal their lands. This is the word and the ways of God. In this last days churches have become so monetised and exploitative that they have lost the focus of winning souls to becoming business conglomerates. This is not the ways of God, it's a sin before God. This is the time the church must rather give not take from members. The church of God today is not satisfied with collections. There are churches in Ghana today that are richer than banks but they will never take care of the poor. That is not the way of God.

Please let's stop demanding for offerings and tithes in the midst of Coronavirus pandemic from church members. A church must save monies that it can fall on during crisis like this. A church must not spend all it's finances because they know there will be another week day or Sunday service. If a church cannot operate smoothly even for 6 months to one year without depending on offerings and tithes then we have a big problem here. Churches must begin to see the need to employ professionals to manage their finances for them than expecting every service to the church to be free. I personally call it the "Church Economy". A Church Economy is adopting an economic approach in managing the scarce resources of a church with the help of God and professionals to ensure the church is sustainable in the foreseeable future.

All the monies they have spent on buying all the expensive cars, houses, clothes, travelling the whole world etc, this is the time to account for them (opportunity cost). The church must understand that every money spent on luxury instead of soul winning means you will not have enough money available to manage yourself during crisis like COVID-19. If you spend monies in winning souls then you can trust God to always replenish it for you. I guess the church never saw this coming, they never thought there will be a time when they cannot meet.

This is a test of church administration, financial management and crisis management. When people are dying and the world economy is almost on its knees, this is not the time to be demanding money from church members. Some churches have always lived with the expectation of depending on members to finance it's activities. As much as this is not wrong or inappropriate, it will be good for the church to display some sense of responsibility in times like this by showing support in dealing with the pandemic that may affect it's members than rather at this time demanding for money from members.

Churches must provide sanitizers and face masks for their church members in these times not demanding for online tithes and offering. Some churches and men of God have put in their minds that they are made to receive not to give. Some churches and men of God are stingy, they don't know how to give but always preaching giving. This is the time the church must provide accommodation for those on the streets, visit hospitals, prisons and pray for God to turn around the situation. You don't use church money to buy Rolls Royce, private jets etc and be demanding offerings and tithes at this time, it's very shameful. It's tells us what is more important to the church, the monies they are collecting not the lives of the members.

We know some pastors are doing live Facebook streaming and the like but how many people have access to Facebook that you are demanding payments of offerings and tithes after preaching?  The church of Pentecost has donated 10 vans to NCCE to intensify their education on COVID-19. This is what a good church should be doing in times like this and not still demanding money from members. Who is giving monies to members now for them to also come and give to the church? Business is down and slow, customers are not buying, people are indoors so economic activities is stagnant for a while so please members cannot afford to pay monies now. If anything at all, the church should rather distribute food stuffs to members so they can stay indoors because they risk catching the virus when they step outside and because some members businesses are down now they have no monies to even fend for themselves.

This is the time for the church to demonstrate care and support for it's members but you see because many churches have squandered their finances, they are still putting pressure on quarantined members to pay tithes and offerings. If the assembly of the brethren has come to a halt, any payment regarding the church must also come to a halt. Even the world system recognises that to lock down a whole country say France, government has in the interim put a hold on tax collections, rents, utility bills etc and the government is rather prepared to pay businesses for the period of closure to meet their running cost. If a world system can think and implement this, why not the church too excuse its members from any further financial burden? I am done here.

My name is Emmanuel Quayson, a fellow servant, preacher and writer in God's vineyard. God bless you as you read.