“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done.” Proverbs 19:17

The Lost Roots of Sacrificial Giving

The Purpose of Collections: Care for the Poor

The practice of charity and care for the poor is deeply rooted in the Church, beginning in the New Testament with believers pooling resources to meet each other’s needs. This ethic did not emerge in isolation—it grew out of Jewish law, where tithes, gleaning, and provisions for widows, and orphans, made social responsibility a sacred obligation.

Core Ethical Principles in Early Christian Charity

 From the New Testament model, five core ethical principles shaped early church charity: generosity came from the heart, was never coerced; care prioritized the poor and vulnerable; financial matters were handled with transparency and accountability. Paul demonstrated self-support to show that his service was free from any evil motive; and there was zero tolerance for self-enrichment through ministry. The overarching goal was not the accumulation of wealth, but faithfulness to God and the preservation of the Church’s moral credibility.

“The high salaries, perks, and organizational enrichment of modern charities have drifted far from the sacrificial, mission-first charitable model rooted in the practices of the early Church.”

 Why This Matters for 501(c)(3) Concerns

Concerns about 501(c)(3) organizations become especially serious when modern nonprofits drift toward excessive executive compensation, weak oversight, opaque financial reporting, or personal enrichment, because such patterns stand in sharp contrast to the New Testament model of integrity and restraint. The early Church understood a crucial principle: financial integrity safeguards both the mission and the public witness of the ministry. When there is even a hint of self-serving behavior, trust begins to erode—and trust is the lifeblood of any charitable work, without which its credibility and effectiveness quickly collapse.

Recent reports detail compensation packages well over $1 million at major nonprofits — including leaders of medical research centers and large advocacy organizations — with total pay including bonuses, incentives, and deferred compensation.

Hospitals and Health Systems as a Case Study

In the nonprofit hospital sector — one of the largest chunks of the tax-exempt world — executives are often paid multi-million-dollar salaries, while the hospitals spend relatively small portions of revenue on charity care (sometimes <2 %). Critics argue this reflects a corporate mindset that places administrative pay ahead of mission service.

In fiscal year 2023, President/CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Selwyn Vickers, was compensated $5,787,159. CEO of the American Heart Association, Nancy Brown, was compensated $4,388,845. (Charity Watch)

Early Christian giving was about meeting real human needs with transparency and selfless integrity. Today, executive compensation at some nonprofits far exceeds the resources directed to the people they serve, prioritizing fundraising totals and organizational growth over genuine mission impact. Government grants, funded by taxpayers and too often overseen by pay-for-play politicians and bureaucrats with little oversight, have resulted in massive fraud.

The Gospel of Giving vs. Modern Church Spending

In the United States, churches operate under a unique legal category compared to most 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and that distinction has a major impact on transparency and spending. Unlike secular charities, churches are automatically tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) and are not required to file IRS Form 990. This exemption stems from First Amendment religious protections, long-standing IRS practice, and congressional policy decisions. The result is a transparency gap: churches are not required to publicly disclose salaries, provide detailed expense breakdowns, or report related-party transactions, while secular nonprofits must disclose executive pay, contractors, grants, and administrative costs.

From a New Testament perspective, early church giving was immediate, need-centered, sacrificial, and communally transparent. In contrast, modern church spending often prioritizes institutional growth, real estate expansion, professionalized staffing, media production, and brand-building. Combined with the lack of required reporting and independent oversight, this structural drift creates opportunities for excessive compensation, nepotism, and misuse of funds, while reducing donor insight. Some churches voluntarily adopt audits, annual reports, and oversight boards, but these practices are inconsistent, leaving significant gaps in accountability and raising ethical concerns about whether modern churches are fulfilling the sacrificial, need-focused vision of the early Church.

From apostles who sacrificed everything to executives collecting multi-million-dollar bonuses, the mission of true charity has been transformed from selfless service into a profit-driven enterprise.

We suggest a radical rethinking of modern church structure: return to the home church model of the first believers, as practiced for the first two centuries of Christianity. Historically, the Church shifted from small, communal gatherings in homes—where generosity was immediate, needs-centered, and transparently shared—to large, property-based institutions with professional staff, sprawling facilities, and complex budgets. Re-embracing home churches would recover the original ethos of sacrificial giving, direct care for the vulnerable, and communal accountability, reducing the distance between resources, leadership, and those in need.

JOLEE-JAFFA FOUNDATION FOR GOOD, INC is a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. EIN: 41-3393578.

We are a 100% volunteer led organization. No board member, officer, or volunteer receives compensation of any kind. Donations are used exclusively to support those we serve, with only minimal administrative and operational expenses—such as insurance, compliance, or essential services—paid when necessary to responsibly carry out our mission.

All expenses are reviewed and approved by the volunteer board and are fully disclosed.