why the huge church?

Question

religions are suppose to help the poor and needy. thats why you thite. or give a percantage of you wage to the church. so why not just build small building and use more of the money to help the poor and needy. do you think god cares if you have hardwood pews or if you sitting on a lovely patch of grass he created.

Answer 1

Your mama should be very proud of you my son.

Answer 2

A church is just a temple. A place where all walks of life can go, to worship together. I don't think God cares where you worship, just as long as you do. Churches do a lot of Good like, having free daycare, Being a place where children can get vacinated. Day camps for children. Marriage counciling, or just counciling in general. Youth groups. Parenting classes. Baby Gymboree. And there is lot's more. All of these services are free, and made possible with people donations. The place of worship has to be able to accomodate all these programs as well. These programs do help the poor and needy, but are also there for people who are not poor and are not needy. The church I went to growing up, was a space rented in the basement of a building, we just had chairs. Try looking at things from different angles before you make your decisions about them. I would imagine you don't go to church very often(and this isn't meant as an insult), so you probably don't realize everything that is done for people at churches. I hope this has helped change your opinion.

Answer 3

Okay, in the past, the Church was given many 'goods' in place of money ... and these 'goods' were beautiful, and they belonged to the 'people' of the Church ... but how could the 'see and spend time' with them? By building large churches, the 'fathers' of the early church were spreading not just 'religious thought' but BEAUTY to the whole world that either 'came in to worship' or just 'passed by' ... and quite frankly, it's very 'difficult' to sit on a hardwood pew through a three hour mass, but it's easy to sit on the grass and contemplate 'nature' ... but I go to church because I 'need to worship God' and I don't mind getting a 'sore behind' and crushed on either side ... and if I go 'sit in the park' and contemplate nature afterwards (as I am prone to do, actually) it's because I appreciate 'all' of the 'faces of God' and not just the 'worldly wealth' in churches ...
YES, the 'poor and needy' do have many needs ... but the poor and needy also need to 'go to a big church' to 'see the beauty' there as well as to 'worship God' ... and because of that, I think that the 'Huge churches full of expensive and beautiful things' are as 'important' to the poor and needy as are food and shelter. That gives them the 'idea' that 'life after death' may be EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL and they may think that 'being poor' on earth is 'fine' if they will 'live in greater beauty with God' after they die.

Answer 4

The problem with your theory is that religions are not supposed to help the poor and needy as a centerpiece. Jesus taught that it was good to help the poor and needy. However, the object to us as Christians is to bring more people to Christ. The percentage of your wage goes more to the poor and needy, it pays the church staff, if provides church upkeep, and goes to missionaries. The reason for a huge church is to house a bunch of people so that they can grow closer to God also. Sitting around on wet grass doesn't have the same ring as nice padded seats that aren't all wet, and potential new Christians will be more likely to visit church if it's not outside. I think sometimes churches will make themselves big beautiful and impressive because churches are a house of God, and a house of God should be more than a wooden hut or towels on a lawn. Additionally, God ordered in the old testament that he have a temple, so that rules out the grass.

And yes the roman catholic church is corrupt, although to a lesser extent to which it was 300 years ago. They've invented a lot of new ways to make money, not just the biblical 10% of your wage. That's partly why I'm a baptist. :D

Answer 5

False Christians build huge Churches for the same reason that Nimrod built the mighty tower of Babel. To be greater and more important than God Almighty!
See we have mighty building ! You cannot destroy us!
These Churches, some of them are called Basilicas,
It is actually the root of the word Basilisk, or monster.
If you look at the floor plan of these Basilicas, they have the head, feet and tail of a lizard, or MIGHTY DRAGON, the very name the Bible Book of Revelation gave to Satan himself!
Also look at the steeples, placed HIGH up, as though to avoid another flood! That was Nimrods idea also when building the tower of Babel.

SOME TRUE CHRISTIANS do exactly that. build modest easy to maintain houses to worship God in and use their money and time for fine works.
Many of my Christian brothers do sit on fallen logs, and open huts, and no toilets, all for the praise and the vindication of the NAME of the true God!

Answer 6

One of my favorite churches in the world is St. Patrick's near Damariscotta, ME. The original building was finished in 1808. As Catholic Churches go, this one is very small. The summer tourism to the area makes it impossible to have Mass inside with any hope of accommodating everyone. So, the parish acquired a large number of park benches and a simple, rough stone altar. On fair Sundays during the summer, Mass is said outside. The whispering pines provide a more peaceful and majestic setting than any cathedral of stone and glass.

A Church building is important; it gives a faith community a place to gather. It serves as a headquarters for ministries that serve the congregation and the wider community. It provides a physical representation of God's kingdom on Earth. A certain amount of solemnity and "otherness" in its decoration is proper, I think, to set it apart from other Earthly spaces. However, if it is not unsafe for the congregation (many of whom might be aged, ill, or infirm), then I think it is also fitting and proper to gather out of doors. What better place to honor God than out among His creation, under the endless sky?

Answer 7

The church usually first reaches out to people in it's own community. They want people to come to the church to hear God's word (well some of them just want numbers and money) but the idea is, as the church congregation grows, the actual building as to grow to accomodate them. No one's gonna wanna come to a church when there's no room for them.

The idea is the more people come into the church, the more they give TO the church, and the more money the church has to give out. It doesn't always work that way, some go way overboard with extravagance. But face it, cushioned seats, big screens, and fancy equipment draw people in. My church has over 5000 members and it simply wouldn't work if we didn't have the screens and sound equipment. You can't minister to people when they can't see and hear the preacher.

Any church worth going to will show you it's budget and cash inflow and outflow, so you can see what came in and where it went to. My church hands them out yearly to the congregation and the church outflow to those in need is well over the amount spent on the equipment that ministers to those in the actual congregation. Sadly, it doesn't always happen that way though for other churches.

Answer 8

I agree for the reason you stated and some additional ones. The mega Church's become like a big business. The payrolls are huge since the paid staff is huge. The pastors, etc, make big money. It's very easy to be just another warm body in the pew where no one even knows (really knows) you or your needs. And the Broadway entertainment offered is about as spiritual as Broadway.

Answer 9

I have always wondered the same thing. That 14 million dollars it took to put that building up sure could have feed a whole bunch of hungry kids, putting clothes on their backs and school supplies in their new backpacks.

God doesn't give on rip iota if you are in a big beautiful church, or in the middle of a forest. He looks at the heart, not the balconies.

Answer 10

You can do both if you want. Read this excerpt:

CBN.com – December 26, 2004. The monstrous tsunami pummeled southeast Asia, ending 250,000 lives. Two million more people were left with no home. In Waco, Texas, members of Antioch Community Church watched the news in horror, but not as mere spectators.
We saw this opportunity to go and share the love of Jesus and his great grace. We oughta jump in,” Pastor Jimmy Seibert says.
In a matter of days, they did -- with both feet.
“The response was huge,” Herber recalls.
“Literally, we turned 200 people away who wanted to be part of this journey,” the pastor says.
“I heard God so clearly initiate, ‘Do something practical, meet their needs, and it will speak the Gospel to these people and you’ll see a village changed,’” Smyer says.

“They called and said, ‘Hey, we think the best thing we can do for these guys is build ‘em homes. Whatdya think? So we prayed about it and said, “Man, let’s do it! Let’s build a village. Why not?’” Pastor Seibert says.

Two years and a million memories later, Antioch has now built 85 homes. That’s housing for 350 people! They also built a community center, a school-slash-medical clinic, and a great playground for the kids. But their primary goal is still being accomplished.
We saw person after person after person come to Jesus in the midst of this trial,” Herber says.
“Now we know everyday that God is with us and He will continue to help us. Thank you,” says one Sri Lankan man.
“… you played with our children, cared for the sick, and are everyday with us. This makes me want to take a picture of your God and hang him on my wall and worship Him,“ says Smyer.

Answer 11

I ask myself that question all the time. I love God and I thank Him everyday for sending His Son to die for mankind, but you are right on the money (no pun intended). Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel and feed the hungry....Not go ye into your comfy church and yawn through the service so the pastor-businessman can stroke your conscience and make you feel better about your pathetic life. I'm sick of the whole thing and I'm pretty sure God is too.