The online Christian news magazine Christian Today released a very interesting story on Monday. They reported the New Creation Church in Singapore had recently purchased a shopping mall worth over $300 million. The mega-church, which has as it’s pastor Joseph Prince, purchased the enormous multi-story mall for the bargain-basement price of only $217 million. The purchase was made by the church’s parent company, Rock Productions, which leases the attached 30,000 seat performing arts center for church services every week.
When asked about the reason behind the purchase, the head deacon of the church explained that they did not want to take a risk the new owner would subvert their plans to continue Sunday services on the property. He further went on to say that the two entities, the mall and the church, were “inextricably linked.” The church leaders apparently felt that it was in the best interest of both the church and community.
But one has to wonder what the rest of the mall will be used for. Will this opulent, ornate building be turned into a community center where anyone can utilize the facility free of charge? Will there be affordable medical care offered by doctors who are able to rent space inside the mall at reduced rates? Will the homeless find shelter there? The answer to these questions are obvious only because of the past record of other churches engaged in similar ventures.
For example, pastor Joel Osteen of Houston, Texas came under fire for not opening up his 40,000 seat stadium for flood victims a few years ago. The Catholic church is often criticized for spending tens of thousands of dollars at the Vatican on simple items such as a papal chair lined with gold flake. And then there are the 20-room mansions occupied by famous pastors like Steven Furtick and Joyce Meyer.
But before anyone should point the finger at the “mega-churches,” there must be some discussion of where the mainstream churches in the U.S. are headed. For example, most churches in America will admit that the majority of their costs are “administrative.” But it really is not clear to the average member of most churches what the itemized costs are, since by IRS standards, churches are not required to disclose this information to their members, unlike their secular non-profit counterparts. The salaries of the staff members do not have to be disclosed, nor do the capital investments, such as the actual purchase price of a new building. The church leadership can stow the money in an LLC and then turn around and purchase the new building without the members of the church even knowing about the transaction.
This is probably what happened in Singapore. The church suddenly, without full disclosure, made the $217 million purchase. Imagine the surprise from their 30,000 members when they found out their weekly tithe went to buy a giant shopping mall!
When asked about the reason behind the purchase, the head deacon of the church explained that they did not want to take a risk the new owner would subvert their plans to continue Sunday services on the property. He further went on to say that the two entities, the mall and the church, were “inextricably linked.” The church leaders apparently felt that it was in the best interest of both the church and community.
But one has to wonder what the rest of the mall will be used for. Will this opulent, ornate building be turned into a community center where anyone can utilize the facility free of charge? Will there be affordable medical care offered by doctors who are able to rent space inside the mall at reduced rates? Will the homeless find shelter there? The answer to these questions are obvious only because of the past record of other churches engaged in similar ventures.
For example, pastor Joel Osteen of Houston, Texas came under fire for not opening up his 40,000 seat stadium for flood victims a few years ago. The Catholic church is often criticized for spending tens of thousands of dollars at the Vatican on simple items such as a papal chair lined with gold flake. And then there are the 20-room mansions occupied by famous pastors like Steven Furtick and Joyce Meyer.
But before anyone should point the finger at the “mega-churches,” there must be some discussion of where the mainstream churches in the U.S. are headed. For example, most churches in America will admit that the majority of their costs are “administrative.” But it really is not clear to the average member of most churches what the itemized costs are, since by IRS standards, churches are not required to disclose this information to their members, unlike their secular non-profit counterparts. The salaries of the staff members do not have to be disclosed, nor do the capital investments, such as the actual purchase price of a new building. The church leadership can stow the money in an LLC and then turn around and purchase the new building without the members of the church even knowing about the transaction.
This is probably what happened in Singapore. The church suddenly, without full disclosure, made the $217 million purchase. Imagine the surprise from their 30,000 members when they found out their weekly tithe went to buy a giant shopping mall!