The Quiet Economic Power of the Local Church

I’m proud to belong to my local church.

Bookkeeping Solutions exists to serve churches, so yes, my confidence to churches seems obvious.  Lately, however, that confidence doesn’t feel as shared as it once was. 

Churches are being devalued, and that’s just plain frustrating, especially considering the measurable good they do. 

The local church has a significant positive impact on individual lives, as well as measurable economic benefit to our society, a benefit that Canadian research backs up.   

One Life Changed

This past Sunday at my church, a woman being baptized shared her testimony.  She had a difficult childhood filled with abuse (it was heartbreaking).  She had been removed from her home, but eventually she was adopted by a loving Christian couple.

As she shared her story, what surprised me the most wasn’t her courage or the love of her adoptive parents. It was her gratitude for the church.

After years of feeling alone, she found belonging.

Youth group gave her friends, counselling helped her overcome addiction, volunteering gave her a sense of purpose, leading small groups taught her confidence.  It happened quietly.  There was no good press or fanfare.  It just happened in the everyday, ordinary rhythms of church life.

This Is What Churches Do Every Day

Her story isn’t an exception. This is everyday life in churches across Canada.

Churches provide counselling, food banks, clothing programs, addiction recovery, leadership development, financial courses, youth programs, and safe spaces for community groups. They promote volunteering, generosity, and belonging.

Much of this work is invisible. It’s motivated by faith and done by volunteers.

But while the impact is often unseen or uncelebrated, it is, interestingly, measurable.

The Economic Case for Churches

Cardus (www.cardus.ca), a Canadian think tank, recently studied why religious tax exemptions benefit all Canadians.

Churches receive three primary forms of government support:

• Property tax exemptions
• Public Service Body (PSB) rebates on a portion of GST/HST
• The ability to issue charitable tax receipts to donors

According to Cardus’ research, the total cost of this support to the Canadian taxpayers is approximately $1.7 billion annually.

What do Canadians receive in return?

An estimated $18.2 billion in social benefit.

From a purely financial perspective, it is an amazing return on investment.  There is $10 of social value for every $1 tax dollar spent.  As bookkeepers who work with churches across Canada, we see this economic impact reflected in the numbers every day.

This includes food banks, thrift stores, counselling services, volunteer labour, community space, addiction recovery, and financial education programs that governments would otherwise need to fund directly. It’s building leaders and well-adjusted adults, better parents and stronger families, people who understand social responsibility and generosity.

More Than Numbers

Of course, churches do far more than provide economic benefit. Thankfully, that’s not their primary purpose or motivation.  It’s just a fantastic byproduct of a financially healthy church.

But if we are going to talk about taxpayer costs, then let’s also talk about the economic benefits.  Canadian society benefits when local churches and other religious groups are supported.

And for that young woman, the value wasn’t just theory.  It changed her life.

Our work at Bookkeeping Solutions exists to support that quiet, faithful impact by helping churches steward their finances well, and I’m so grateful (and proud) that we get to play a role in supporting churches.

So thank you. Thank you for leading, serving and giving.  Thank you for the lives you touch and the communities you bless, often quietly and always faithfully.

— Suzanne Haynes
Founder, Bookkeeping Solutions

At Bookkeeping Solutions, we’re proud to serve churches across Canada by providing simple, smart, stress-free bookkeeping that helps you focus on what matters most.