Projects for Service or for Investment?
Projects for Service or for Investment?
The projects carried out by churches or associations, which are considered among their basic activities, are divided into two main sections: either service or investment, according to the aim of the project and the result it leads to.
Service projects do not bring in revenue, but rather the church or association spends on them. In the budget, they fall under the category of expenses.
As for investment projects, they fall under the category of revenues and become a source of funding for the church or association.
There are projects that sustain themselves, being neither an area of expenditure nor a source of funding.
And there are other projects that begin with the aim of service, but over time, and with the deviation of the goal, they turn into investment projects and a source of money!
And here lies the danger…
And the saying of the Apostle applies to them: “Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3).
Let us speak about examples of such projects:
Nursery:
Its aim is a spiritual aim, or at least this is how it begins: We want to help working mothers raise their children and keep them in a spiritual, healthy, and educational environment during the mothers’ absence.
The nursery can charge a reasonable fee that does not burden the family, especially if the family has more than one child in the nursery.
Up to this point, the nursery is a branch of service and can sustain itself. But if it deviates and turns into an investment field, raising the fee so that only the rich can afford to pay, while the opportunity is lost for those of moderate means, then the nursery has stepped outside the realm of service and has become a source of collecting money and funding the church, no matter how much spiritual service it provides to wealthy families.
The church is not only for the aristocratic class; it is for all the people.
Homes for the Elderly
These homes have become necessary for the elderly—those who are widowed, or whose children have emigrated or work in distant places, who married and left their parents. These elders have become in need of someone to care for them in their old age.
The prices of homes for the elderly indicate what they truly are: Are they for service or for investment? Are they only for those who are financially capable, or do they also include the incapable? And if they include some poor people, what kind of care is offered to them? Is it mere shelter, or all means of comfort, care, and support so that they lack nothing?
Homes for Students Living Away from Their Families:
By this we mean university students who move to the capitals to complete their studies.
How much is required from them in these student homes? And what is the ability of parents to pay? And does this project fall within the realm of service or investment? And what about poor students—do they find a place in these homes? And what does the church do to serve them?
Care for the Disabled:
There is no doubt that it is a great humanitarian work for the church to care for the disabled, whether physically or mentally disabled. But caring for the disabled requires a compassionate heart, a wide chest, patience and endurance, and a spirit of service…
Some disabled individuals come from families that cannot afford expenses. Are church institutions that care for the disabled prepared to spend on them? Or do they impose fees beyond their ability? Or leave them to be lost?!
What can we say likewise about other projects?!
And the question remains before us:
Are our projects for service or for investment?
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