The Sunday Mail
Desire Ncube
CHURCHES are experiencing a significant drop in tithes and offerings as cash shortages bite into all spheres of life. A survey by The Sunday Mail Religion showed that some of the hardest hit are Pentecostal churches whose teachings usually centre on the “prosperity gospel”. Some churches have resorted to plastic money, with Celebration Church and the Apostolic Faith Mission having introduced such facilities for congregants.
Founder of House of Grace International Church, Prophet Shame Hungwe, said his ministry recorded a drop in offerings from US$4 000 per service to US$1 000 in recent weeks.
“The church is a component of the society. So, what is happening in the society will affect the church. We are not isolated from the ills that are affecting our country; when people are not accessing their monies it means the church will also suffer because there is nowhere we can get money besides collecting tithe and offerings.”
Prophet Hungwe added that he was “not concerned about money” as long as souls were won for God. “We used to have as much as US$4 000 as offering on Sundays in our services but now we hardly get US$1 000 as offering. Our average is now US$800 tithes and offerings per service.
“This is because most of our members have been affected by the cash crisis and economic hardships that the country is experiencing. The little we are getting now comes from those who are running their small businesses.
“It’s true that we need (money) for administration purposes; we have to pay rent, public address systems and many other things that make the ministry move forward. But over and above we are happy that people are coming to Christ.
“What we are doing is that we are preaching the gospel of hope, we want people to remove their focus on what is affecting them and put all their hope in Christ.” United Family International Church spokesperson Pastor Prime Kufa said the cash crisis had affected livelihoods.
“Well we cannot talk about the cash crisis in the context of the church lest we project the body of Christ as profit making organisation yet it is a charity organisation. Instead we have to talk of the cash crisis in terms of how it has affecting the people,” he said.
Pr Kufa said the church was concerned with how their congregants lived. A Seventh-day Adventist Church official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Sunday Mail Religion that in the last few months, collections had fallen about 60 percent.
He said the cash shortages were putting pressure on churches as more people sought help from their spiritual homes. Anglican member Mr Collins Gore said, “If you do not get your salary, definitely, you will not be able to pay your tithe. Actually, it has in one way or the other affected the income of the church because you pay from whatever you earn.”
Prophet Tapiwa Freddy of Goodness and Mercy Ministries said one of the obligations of the church was to assist the less privileged. “The message for the people at this time is to look unto God. We are telling our members to turn to God at this time. You can read it on the faces of many people that they have issues they are passing through,” said Prophet Freddy.
“The cash inflow has dropped. It is when you receive salary that you will pay tithe. The people are just living by faith. If you see anybody in church today that is still faithfully paying his tithe and offering the way he used to, you should know it is by faith.”
God’s Power House Ministries leader Prophetess Taclar Gutsa weighed in: “It is a big problem with people losing their jobs and those that are not working are not being paid and those who are being paid there is no money in the bank.”
A member of a Pentecostal church in Harare, who identified herself as Natasha, said apart from not being able to pay her tithe and offering, things were generally tough.
A deacon with the United Methodist Church in Harare said “some of our members are still complying, but the level of payment has diminished due to the fact that there is no money in the banks”.
