Economic Relief, Innovation, and… Churches?

Many of you might be wondering, how do churches relate to the new federal stimulus package? With many small businesses, mom and pop stores, and even large corporations such as Starbucks struggling due to the government shutdown the the government recently released that it will loan out money to many businesses to help pay utilities, salary, and other fixed expenses that businesses are struggling to pay.  I’m figured this would directly benefit local restaurants,  non-essential businesses, and other corporations that cannot pay employees and bills. This has forced many of these small companies to innovate in the e-commerce world.  I just recently looked up several pizza places in my area and they are offering DIY pizza making kits. Online Pickup for grocery stores is in very high demand, and even coffee shops are selling beans and other things online.  Many of these places want to continue to innovate in the small ways that they have, but need to be able to afford their expenses in this transition period, and that is why the federal government is offering this stimulus package.

Now you may be asking: “wait Matt, didn’t you talk about the struggling churches and how donations have fallen substantially during this time?” Why yes all of you who are reading my articles. I did in my last blog post. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, go back and see how churches are transitioning in this time of social distancing.  But those of you who did, remember the struggle many churches are currently going through who are not able to take physical tithes in offering plates.  This was how many churches who are smaller, have older congregations, or saw no need to transition to online giving.  Many of them are being hurt, and the government recognized it. Yes, churches are receiving access to the same benefits as the pizza shop in your home town. These will help pay for salaries, utilities, and other fixed expenses just like small businesses. But then this raises a whole new moral question.  Does this break the separation of church and state?  While many people might find this relieving , many of us at “Freedom’s College” (Grove City College) believe in the separation from government funding and sponsorship in faith based organizations.  It will be interesting to see how churches react to this bill. Many though will say that this is an opportunity for churches to innovate. Online church seems to be a fairly large movement, and with many pastors now running podcasts, YouTube channels, and social media will this give churches the funding and time to contextualize and reach out to the “online generation”? There is no doubt that money allows churches to innovate, but does it matter if the donations and loans come from the congregation, or can the come from the people (i.e. the Government).

Please comment down below and tell me what your thoughts are on this situation!