The local bank, which the church here has been doing business with for over six decades, is closing its local office. The next nearest office is over 20 miles away. If we maintain our current account, the church treasurer would have to drive the extra miles to make the contribution deposit, and at other times when his presence was necessary for carrying out church business. The men have talked about moving the church’s business to another bank or credit union. Several of us have a local account with a credit union, which pays unsolicited interest on our checking accounts.<\/p>\n
Will God be pleased with using an interest-bearing account?\u00a0 At the same time, we are concerned about the conscience of others.<\/p>\n\t
The only means a church has to raise its operating funds is through voluntary contributions (I Corinthians 16:1-2). This is why objections are made to churches raising money via sales. If you were discussing storing the church’s funds in a stock market account to increase the amount of cash available to the church, then we would have a problem.<\/p>\n
The amount of interest typically offered by banks on their accounts doesn’t even cover the loss of monetary value due to inflation. Bank accounts do not generate profit; therefore, such accounts don’t violate the idea that churches only raise their funds by voluntary contributions.<\/p>\n\t
Question: The local bank, which the church here has been doing business with for over six decades, is closing its local office. The next nearest office is over 20 miles away. If we maintain our current account, the church treasurer would have to drive the extra miles to make the contribution deposit, and at other…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[154],"class_list":["post-43448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church-funds"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-should-aid-be-sent-to-members-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":43448,"position":0},"title":"How should aid be sent to members of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How should aid be sent help disaster victims who are members of the church? I received the following letter [edited] and I don't know how to respond. Dear Brethren, I would like to offer a unique opportunity to you and your respective congregations. So many times, when there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7616,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-co-sign-a-loan-for-a-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":43448,"position":1},"title":"Should I co-sign a loan for a church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of a fundamental Bible-teaching church and firmly believe in the \"literal\" Word of the Bible. But I find myself in a difficult situation.\u00a0\u00a0We are building a new Church building.\u00a0\u00a0The building project was kicked off using traditional construction bank financing. We had enough assets and membership\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-church-spend-money-on-community-service-to-get-people-to-evangelize\/","url_meta":{"origin":43448,"position":2},"title":"Should a church spend money on community service to get people to evangelize?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Should a church use its money in community service to gain the attention of people to preach to, because of the current lack of seriousness in people toward the gospel? Is it the correct pattern of evangelism? Answer: \"Jesus answered them and said, 'Truly, truly, I say to you,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57658,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/james-127-and-the-orphan-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":43448,"position":3},"title":"James 1:27 and the Orphan Home","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jimmy Mickells When I obeyed the gospel in 1974, the issue of church-supported orphan homes had been debated among brethren for a good number of years. This subject, along with a discussion of colleges being supported from the treasury of the church, had already caused a great division among\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14242,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-an-unused-preachers-home-be-rented-out-by-a-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":43448,"position":4},"title":"Should an unused preacher’s home be rented out by a church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do you feel about a preacher's home that the preacher does not live in being rented out? The congregation also has one other home that it rents out. Is that scripturally wrong? Answer: The problem is a lack of authority. The Scriptures are clear that a church is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21108,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-church-receive-funds-from-non-believers-or-an-organization\/","url_meta":{"origin":43448,"position":5},"title":"Can a church receive funds from non-believers or an organization?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you very much for your web site. I find it both educative and encouraging. Can I trouble you, my beloved brother, with some questions? Can a faithful congregation receive aid for the needy in the congregation from a non-believer or an organization? 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