What is wrong with this picture?
According to Jonathan at “Missio Dei” in his post “Really Expensive Buildings“, Samaritan’s Purse has released a “catalog” listing how Americans can give to help people around the world. Here are some of the “items” in their “catalog”:
$100 – One Emergency Shelter
$750 – One Well
$7,500 – One House
$20,000 – One School
$25,000 – One Medical Hospital
$75,000 – One Church Building
So, if I give $75,000, people around the world could build 750 emergency shelters, 100 wells, 10 houses, almost 4 schools, 3 hospitals, or 1 church building. As Jonathan quotes, “What is wrong with this picture?”
I have to be honest… I’m hoping that no one donates a church building.
Stuff like this just makes me laugh and shake my head. What in the world are they thinking?
1 American church building vs 10 house church buildings????
Maybe they were going to put their name on the cornerstone.
You know, Alan, I bet they don’t even get the irony of the price of that church building.
Alan,
Between you and Lionel,
please slow down. I am on information overload. 🙂
Really though you both are hitting heavy on some issues. Keep it up.
Steven
american consumerism headed oversees
look at what we could spend on here and what we spend on …
in my town …
$ 750,000 could get you stained glass windows for the sanctuary or it could provide housing and food for our entire homeless community for 5 years …
we choose window …
YEA US
I wanted to look into this further before making a judgment. I found that there are two “church building” options.
1. Help Build a Church for Sudan’s Christians – 75,000$
2. Help Build a Church for Suffering Christians – 15,000$
Perhaps there is a logical explanation why it is so much more expensive in Sudan? Maybe it was just a typo?
Anyways, I still hope that no one donates the money for a church building.
God’s Glory,
Lew
Alan, this is shocking. I’ve tried looking through the pictures to see why a hospital is a third of the price and a school almost a fourth of the price of a church building. I’m not sure it even kind of makes sense. I get the notion of 10 house churches vs. 1 church building. But even if the people really felt like having a church building, isn’t there some way to make the cost go down? Significantly? It is crazy….
I am going to try to get a couple of shelters. I will add this to my budget somehow. I don’t agree with the enourmous amount of Church building but I have to find a way to help. I am going to stop reading blogs because there is so many needs (just kidding)
I think Samaritan’s purse does some great work but the church building thing is a little silly. My thought though is what’s the difference in that and American pastors asking church members to contribute half a million dollars to build a new “family life” center. I’d rather hang out with my Christian friends at the coffee shop and send my “building fund” commitment to a missionary or buy bibles.
The purpose of this post (and from what he says, the purpose of Jonathan’s post) was not to condemn Samaritan’s Purse. I agree that they do great work around the world.
Thanks for the great comments, everyone, and thanks to those of you who looked into this further.
-Alan
Hey Alan, Jonathan and I posted this about the same time (we discovered it in his house as we were dreaming about a different way to do Christmas as families), here were my thoughts: When a Building Becomes an Injustice
Brother Harold,
Amen on every word you typed!
Peace to you my like-minded brother,
From the Middle East
Reminds me of the old Mastercard commercial. But the tagline in this should be: one church, $75,000…useless!
Wow – what could make the point any clearer?
Andy, that was funny.
Alan,
I agree with the sentiments of the article and the comments, BUT, things are not always as simple as we would wish; there are some indigenous situations where a particulat religion is dominant and the only way Christians will be tolerated is if they have a public meeting place.