THE CHURCH IS NOT FOR BUSINESS

I write to respectfully but firmly disagree with the notion that the church is a business. I was deeply troubled when a pastor recently told me to my face that church is business. Scripture and history affirm that the church was never intended to be a business nor a vehicle for profit. If the church operates as a business today, it is because people have chosen to commercialize what belongs to God. 

The Church Is a Humanitarian Body. The church is fundamentally a humanitarian organization often registered as an NGO. Its primary mission is souls unto Christ and serve humanity, exemplified by Christ’s command.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Matthew 25:45

This divine mandate is why governments grant tax exemptions not to enable profit, but to advance compassion. 

Let's consider Nigeria’s missionary history, they arrived with only necessities. They built free schools and hospitals, directing 90% of overseas donations to serve communities. 
They gifted all assets to host communities and governments upon departure no sales, no ownership claims. 

This contrasts sharply with modern stories, like the Nigerian pastor who sold his church property before relocating abroad. 

The Bitter Truth: The Church Belongs to the Community, Not Individuals 
Even if you invest your life savings to establish a church, it does not belong to you. It is held in trust for the community and God’s kingdom. As Peter declares: 
"You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house." (1 Peter 2:5) 
The church is the people not the building, the budget, or the brand. 

Because we’ve commercialized the church. 80% of funds fuel extravagant programs; scraps remain for charity. 
It’s easier to raise ₦5 million for a fine speech event than ₦200,000 for the charity. 

Jesus rebuked turning God’s house into a marketplace.
"My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’" Matthew 21:13
When profit drives the church, we: 
Burden congregations with financial targets. 
Accept unethical donations. 
Prioritize showmanship over service (invest on men with fine speeches while the poor stay poor). 
Create hierarchies favoring the wealthy. 

The call is Sacrificial Leadership. Church leadership demands self-denial, not self-enrichment. If you cannot prioritize others’ welfare above your own, if you aren’t prepared to return to God with "nothing but souls" do not accept the pastoral mantle. I decline this role myself because I take it seriously.

The church is: 
The sheep, not the structure. 
Hope through love, not empty words. 
Salvation in Christ, not a human enterprise. 

If you insist the church is a business, pay taxes. Let those funds build roads, schools, and hospitals things the church should have championed. 

I may be wrong in my analysis, but I stake my life on this. The church is not, and must never become, a business.

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

Until the moment when will shall dance in white Greater Grace.

Oyugbo Osagie Jonah
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