Greetings Brother Hamilton,<\/p>\n
I trust you are doing great today.<\/p>\n
I have this conflict to clarify:\u00a0I understand the church is not suppose to go into business or maintain one. But I have a challenge; My congregation was gifted a piece of land with a sunken borehole (well) by a brother . Can the church use that water to help the community, or will that be considered a business? Some congregations here drill boreholes (a source) of water for their host community. Would it be wrong to do so if you won’t sell it or ask people to pay anything in case of a repair?<\/p>\n
If we are to stay strictly with the Bible and the church is to do only what is authorized, where is the place of inference? If God has not dealt with man in various ways, would it be wrong to use schools or charity organizations to further his cause? Can’t they be seen as methods to execute His will? Just like radio evangelism and tracts, we have different mediums to get the gospel preached.<\/p>\n
Please, how do I reconcile these things?<\/p>\n
Thank you, sir.<\/p>\n\t
If the church doesn’t have a use for the land it was given, it should be sold. Churches don’t exist to accumulate wealth but to teach the gospel. If the church does have a use for the land, such as a place to build a meeting place, then there is nothing wrong with letting people benefit from the water. I assume that water use won’t cost the church money to run an electric pump. If there are operating costs, then the well could given or sold to a community organization to maintain it.<\/p>\n
Inference has a place in understanding what God has authorized. However, it must be a necessary or unavoidable inference. See:<\/p>\n
Where can you draw a necessary conclusion that a church is to fund a\u00a0separate<\/strong> institution to teach people or train preachers? Where do we conclude that the church is a general charity organization, let alone authorized to fund a separate institution to do its work? See\u00a0The Problem with Organized Religion<\/a>.\u00a0 The article Church-Supported Orphans’ Homes: What Was the Issue?<\/a> touches on these issues.<\/p>\n\t It’s always great to have someone like you to rely on in moments when it matters. Thank you very much for your responses. I always find them helpful in my preaching work. God bless you with more wisdom, keep your family safe and sound, and give you more grace to serve Him.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Greetings Brother Hamilton, I trust you are doing great today. I have this conflict to clarify:\u00a0I understand the church is not suppose to go into business or maintain one. But I have a challenge; My congregation was gifted a piece of land with a sunken borehole (well) by a brother . Can the church…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[154],"class_list":["post-69866","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":31644,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-anything-wrong-with-being-a-part-of-a-scouting-troop-that-meets-in-a-denominational-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":69866,"position":0},"title":"Is there anything wrong with being a part of a scouting troop that meets in a denominational building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My little brother's boy scouts meets in a Catholic Church Community Center.\u00a0 Is there anything wrong with that? Answer: I look at it this way: Your brother is a member of the Boy Scouts. All funds that he pays goes to the Boy Scouts. Where the scouts found a\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":8723,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-it-is-wrong-to-use-instrumental-music-because-the-new-testament-doesnt-mention-it-then-it-would-be-wrong-to-use-electricity\/","url_meta":{"origin":69866,"position":1},"title":"If it is wrong to use instrumental music because the New Testament doesn’t mention it, then it would be wrong to use electricity.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My brother was a member of the Church of Christ which is why I know something about their beliefs. They didn\u2019t use musical instruments when singing songs because, as he told me, musical instruments were not mentioned in the first-century church. Neither was electricity, but that sure didn\u2019t keep\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":18528,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-think-it-is-right-for-a-congregation-to-go-door-knocking-while-neglecting-to-help-its-needy-members\/","url_meta":{"origin":69866,"position":2},"title":"Do you think it is right for a congregation to go door-knocking while neglecting to help its needy members?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question concerning our church. No church of Christ I have ever attended has done this. I have been disabled and been divorced, biblically, for a long time. No boyfriends and very poor. I got into a bind and could not pay my light bill. I was\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":86914,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-attend-a-different-church-after-being-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":69866,"position":3},"title":"Is it wrong to attend a different church after being baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings Brother, I want to know if it's wrong, once we're baptized, to worship at a church other than a Church of Christ. Answer: I'm puzzled. If you were baptized at a church of Christ because you realized you need to obey the Lord and you realized the church\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":21189,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-would-you-use-for-handouts-in-a-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":69866,"position":4},"title":"What would you use for handouts in a community?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you so much for your willingness to answer questions!! We have a congregation (about 40 - 50) and we are wanting to conduct a campaign of the local area.\u00a0 We counted about 830 houses within a three-mile radius of the building (it's a rural area).\u00a0 In our packet\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":17446,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-date-someone-from-the-church-you-attend\/","url_meta":{"origin":69866,"position":5},"title":"Is it wrong to date someone from the church you attend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding church discipline. I attend a congregation where a brother has dated several sisters in the same congregation.\u00a0 Also, some of them have left this congregation. Should I stay or look for another place of worship? Is this acceptable? Thanks for your cooperation. 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