During the four-day event, 'Victorython' in September Jesse Duplantis said: "I honestly believe this - the reason why Jesus hasn't come is that people are not giving the way God told them to give." Read more

Pushpay services include a web-enabled giving platform and online donor management.

Net profit fell 15 percent for the year ended March 31.

One of the issues facing Pushpay has been the recent sale of shares by key investors.

That includes outgoing chief executive Bruce Gordon, who sold 1.4 million shares last month, and rich listers the Huljich family.

The Huljichs have been involved with the business since it listed on the NZX in August 2014 for 37c per share.

The family sold 25 percent of its stake when the shares hit a high of $9.25 a share in July.

The stock fell 8 per cent on the day the family sold and was down 3 percent the day Gordon sold his stake.

"The recent sell-down by insiders is a result of strong share price performance and the first opportunity since the impact of Covid-19 to take some profits," Forsyth Barr analyst Jamie Foulkes says.

Forsyth Barr forecast a leap in net profit to US$36 million for the current financial year and US$54.6 million in two years.

Pushpay is currently used by 10,900 customers, including evangelical giants such as Hillsong New York and CedarCreek.

Churches were not immune to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many small churches have been forced to close permanently in recent months.

However, many churches are now looking to re-open, allowing physical church services.

There has also been Church consolidation, with the more established megachurches expanding.

This would benefit Pushpay.

Foulkes says digital giving is still likely to remain the predominant method of donation because of concerns over handling cash.

Digital giving was as high as 99 percent in some US churches, compared with cash.

Churches still received cheques in the mail, but even older churchgoers were taking to digital giving.

It's showing at the local festival as it moves around the country following screenings in the indigenous section of the Berlin International Film Festival in February and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in May and heads to the Melbourne International Film Festival next month. Read more

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) probe into the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church (SISDAC) - which has branches in New Zealand, Australia and Samoa - comes amid a seperate investigation by Samoa's Central Bank into the church. Continue reading

Vea turns the camera on her family, and around on herself, to focus on struggling relationships, burning resentments, generational divides and cultural clashes that stretch back decades. Read more

The Minister for Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, said his ministry estimated more than 250 ministers of the church owed $US2500 each in unpaid tax for the first six months of the year.

"As of last week, we have given all the banks a list of names of the church ministers whose personal accounts will be affected by this seizure," said Tialavea.

He said if the ministers don't have any money, the government will seize their cars and lands, whatever assets they own, which have a market value.

"We will take and again, this is done under the authority of the law."

Tialavea said the law was passed in January 2018 and all the church denominations complied, except the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (CCCS).

"Well, the law applies to everyone. The law does not wait until it is accepted or not.

"We have given church ministers six months and those who continue to defy the law will face the consequences."

Workers making up to $US5900 dollars or 15,000 talas do not pay tax under reforms announced late last year.

Church ministers are included in this exemption.

But "Unless you file your taxes, we cannot determine which one makes less than the threshold," the revenue minister said.

"However, once the church ministers have filed their taxes and it's less, we will refund them."

The chairman of the Samoan Bankers Association, Tu'u'u Amaramo Sialaoa, said the banks are caught in the middle between the Ministry of Revenue and the customers.

"However, the law is the law and obviously we need to comply with the law," he said.

Source

• sobserver.ws
• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: samoaobserver.ws

The Roman Catholic cathedral in Sydney announced the moved on its Facebook page, but the outcry was so swift that the post was deleted soon after. Read more

The way in which the funding is carried out is now under review.

The government will not comment on how the funding is to be allocated this year and it could be facing a fight with the Catholic Church hierarchy on the issue.

For the past decade, government funding of between US$1.5 million and US$2 million each year were disbursed to the nation's two dioceses, with millions more made available to parishes and religious orders for specific projects.

But now, the Catholic prime minister, Taur Matan Ruak, elected in May, plans to use the concordat signed with the Vatican in 2015 as a basis to change the way government funding is allocated.

"My government will no longer give funding to the parish churches because we have allocated a specific budget for the church," Taur Matan Ruak told parliament.

"The church should resolve its own problems."

Up until now US$15 million a year has been guaranteed by the government.

In 2017, US$6 million went directly to the church, with the government retaining US$9 million that was supposed to be for the funding of church building projects.

This year the government has so far committed only US$5 million to be transferred to the bishops' conference.

This agreement was signed in the dying days of the previous government of Mari Alkatiri, despite a budget for the year not having been passed.

But the money has yet to be transferred because of the change of government.

Joaquin Freitas, head of the (CSSF) said he had been told the government may transfer only US$3 million.

The CSSF is an office within the prime minister's department.

There is confusion as to who is responsible for allocating the funds. Up until now, responsibility has been shared by the elected officials, the church and the CSSF.

Father Crispin Julio Belo, a spokesman for the bishops' conference, said that the 2018 total funding of US$15 million should be transferred directly into the bishops' conference account.

However, the government would not comment on how it plans to split the money.

Source

• international.la-croix.com
• Image: otimorleste.com

But at a recent general assembly, the leaders of the Congregational Christian Church (CCCS) said they would ignore the law.

In a speech in parliament, the prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi praised the support of the leaders and members of the other denominations.

But he equated the CCCS's behaviour to holding the Government to ransom.

"The CCCS have pointed a gun at the Government's head.

"A government which was chosen by members of this House, which includes the head of this House and this Parliament.

"This is something the Government does not take lightly," said Tuilaepa.

"Parliament's authority is clear. They are empowered to discuss national developments and to review bills for the same.

"These bills, once passed by this House, are given to the Head of State to assent, which then become ‘Acts of Parliament'."

The CCCS is Samoa's largest denomination, with 29 percent of Samoans identifying with it, according to the 2016 census.

The church's general secretary, Reverend Vavatau Taufao, said the new law was seen by the assembly as an affront to their beliefs because many pastors lived off donations.

RNZ Pacific's correspondent in Apia, Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia, said while the pastors did indeed live off donations, many ministers lived quite comfortably on much more than the average Samoan.

He cited an example of a church minister getting $Tala 6000.00 - round about US$3,000 a fortnight.

Taufao said that while some pastors did earn decent money from donations, others - particularly in more remote areas - earned little. So it was unfair that they should be taxed.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• samoaplanet.com
• Image: samoaplanet.com

This story has been updated: Read

The St Thomas Marthoma Church of New Zealand has released $42,520 of the $102,764 donated earlier this year after three members of the Kochummen family became severely ill last year, the NZ Herald reports. Continue reading

The loan from the was taken out to assist with the building of their $17.39 million Jubilee Church and for and other developments.

The Church's Komiti o Feau Eseese (Works Committee) has recommended to the Church's General Assembly, meeting at Malua, that steps be taken to reduce the debt more rapidly.

According to their report, the loan taken out in 2015 was for $15,116,760.17 with the annual payment of $1,743,300.

The first payment was made on 9 December 2016 but by that time the loan had increased to 15,209,955.68 because of the accrued interest.

So the first payment reduced the loan only to $13,466,655.68.

The second payment of $1,743.300 was made on 13 November 2017.

At that time the additional interest had brought the balance up to $14,426,357.69.

According to the committee's report, if the annual payments continue rather than monthly payments, the Church is looking at paying $23 million and payments will be completed by the year 2029.

They have recommended that church make monthly payments of $145,275.

The committee also recommended that the church's investments in Unit Trust of Samoa should be withdrawn and allocated to help pay for the Church's loan at SNFP.

The Komiti o Feau Eseese has also asked the General Assembly for an additional $2 million to complete the renovations of the John Williams building.

The committee made two recommendations related to decreasing the electricity bill of the Malua compound:

• Hire an engineer to evaluate all the electrical aspects of the compound and, whatever the results of the assessment, recommendations should be followed.
• Convert to cash power each building, including offices and residential, to assure the electricity is well managed."

They also made suggestions about measures to reduce power consumption.

Source

• sobserver.ws
• sobserver.ws
• Image: samoaobserver.ws

Murray Watkinson, a former carpet layer who sold his carpet business in Wellington in 1975 after "encountering God in a supernatural way", began the Celebration Centre church in 1990 in Aranui with about 80 followers. Read more

Church ministers did not mince words when they expressed anger and disappointment at the Samoan government's decision to tax their incomes - and gratuities - starting on 1 January 2018.

However, prime minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi is unrepentant over the government's decision to tax the incomes and gratuities for church ministers.

He insists that taxes belong to the government and therefore church ministers should pay. That was his response to the latest wave of negative comments about the tax scheme targeting churches.

The seminar was held at Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi Building. It was supposed to be a platform for church ministers and government officials of the Ministry of Revenue to interact and raise issues associated with the taxing of pastors.

Several church ministers said the government had underestimated the impact of what they had done, not just on the church but on all members of the public.

Accepting the fact that they soon would be paying taxes, Reverend Siaosi Samuelu, of the Catholic Church at Salua Manono, urged the government to use tax monies wisely.

"There are countless families in Upolu especially at Aleipata who don't have access to water and electricity," he said. "Use those monies to help those families. Use it wisely please but don't abuse and waste them."

Ministry of Revenue officials said they would take note of the concerns expressed.

They also revealed that a form would be given to churches for pastors or church secretaries to indicate how much money a pastor receives. This form should then be submitted to the Ministry of Revenue with the payment of the tax.

One church minister took exception to this proposal, saying "It's not our duty to bring this form to your office after every fortnight."

Source

• Samoa Observer
• Samoa Observer
• Image: The Monastery

He has discovered that the Bill legalising the taxing of church ministers is not limited to the "alofa" or contributions made by members.

"I am sad because we were not informed about this during the public meetings."

"During the consultations, all the Ministry of Revenue went after was the alofa but, to my surprise, someone came across the new amendment and pointed it out to me.

"Why were the Minister of Revenue Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, and his Associate Minister So'oalo Mene, not honest from the beginning about this hidden amendment?

"So aside from the alofa, they now want to tax us on our other incomes that we receive when conducting service prayers for functions, weddings and funerals," said the furious Church Minister.

The pastor said the unfairness of the decision by the government was keeping them in the dark about taxing all income they receive from their roles as church ministers.

"All right, that's fine, but I think the government should also look at taxing the cash envelopes the Cabinet Ministers receive from any event they attend.

"It is only fair that, if they desperately need money as indicated by their measures put in place to obtain more funding, they too should also be taxed when they receive their cash envelopes."

Source

• Samoa Observer
• Image: looppacificassets.s3.amazonaws.com

The dedication ceremony started with various church district presenting gifts in a traditional Ta'alolo and the Mafutaga Aoao a Tina - the Church Women's Council presented fine mats, siapo and a monetary gift of $2 million tala. (NZ$1.1 million)

After the Taalolo, the christening ceremony followed, with Masiofo Filifilia Tamasese cutting the ribbon to open building while the Chairman of the Church, Reverend Elder Tautiaga Senara conducted the service.

The ceremony was attended by the head of state, Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi, the prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, members of the council of deputies, cabinet ministers, leaders of other denominations, parliamentarians, members of the business community and hundreds of guests.

After the guests were seated, The Church General Secretary, Reverend Vavatau Taufao announced the only media to be allowed inside was the EFKS TV which is owned by the church.

The Samoa Observer reported that Vavatau has refused to speak to their reporter.

He insisted that he wanted to talk only to a reporter from Radio New Zealand International.

Difficulties have been encountered in completing the project including delays, questions surrounding loans raised, the cost of contruction matertials and difficulties with contactors.

The exact cost of the project and the extent of the remaining debt remains unclear.

News organisations have suggested different amounts. The confusion is increased by the fact that the amounts quoted are in Samoan tala, US dollars and in some cases the currency is not specified.

It appears however that the total cost is in the region of 17 million tala (NZ$9.6 million).

Vavatau said criticism of the church spending too much on constructing church buildings rather than the welfare of the people was an important matter to be considered.

"It is the people that agreed to build this, even though it is expensive it is their choice. But as General Secretary I believe that this is a living testimony of church prayer,"

Source

• talamua.com
• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• sobserver.ws

The cathedral has been placed in an internal receivership, which has taken over its financial management and operations to help pay off its debt and meet its monthly obligations.

Richard Untalan, president of the Archdiocesan Finance Council, made the announcement of an internal receivership during a Friday afternoon press conference.

Untalan said about $1.1 million of the cathedral's debt is outstanding payables to suppliers, vendors and other creditors.

He said the remaining $800,000is owed to the Bank of Guam, and the council has not yet determined how that money, which refinanced part of an older loan, was spent.

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, in consultation with his presbyteral council and the Archdiocesan Finance Council, said he placed the cathedral under temporary receivership as a last resort.

Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, who is undergoing a Vatican canonical trial, removed Monsignor James Benavente as rector of the cathedral basilica in 2014, creating an uproar among parishioners.

Apuron then named Monsignor David Quitugua as rector.

When Pope Francis suspended Apuron in June 2016, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai appointed the Rev. Paul Gofigan as rector of the cathedral.

Ricardo Duenas, a member of the Archdiocesan Receivership Committee, said prior to Benavente's removal as rector, the cathedral's basket collection was about $10,000 a week.

When sex abuse allegations against Apuron surfaced, on top of his questionable financial and leadership decisions, the number of parishioners coming to the cathedral declined, and so did the weekly collection, an Archdiocesan Finance Council member said.

Source

• guampdn.com
• Image: bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com

After all the public land records show Diocese has $320 million "empire" of cash and properties.

Why not, for example sell the Church of the Good Shepherd in Tekapo to help fund the rebuild?

But a diocese, Anglican or Catholic, is not the monolith it may appear to be from the outside. Parishes are not just local branches of a diocese.

Each parish owns its own property. The Bishop does not exercise CEO-like authority in these matters.

A spokesperson for Anglican Diocese of Christchurch has pointed that the land and investments are the property of individual parishes and are held "on trust" for those parishes.

A parish's assets cannot be spent outside each individual parish.

"The CPT (Church Property Trust) is the holding body for all the [parish] trusts," said the spokesperson.

"You can't take money from Papanui, for example, to pay central."

In a letter sent to all Anglicans in the diocese Bishop Victoria Matthews reminded them the CPT has no equity of its own.

"This week a senior reporter of The Press has made it his business to investigate CPT investments."

"There is the suggestion that on Saturday The Press newspaper will have a story about the Church Property Trustees and how we could use our funds to reinstate the Cathedral in the Square."

"I write to you at this time to simply remind you that we do hold land and Investments but that these are for parish and diocesan ministry and mission. CPT has no equity of its own."

The Christchurch Anglican diocese's finances have come under scrutiny as it negotiates with the Government over how to fund the $100m Christ Church Cathedral restoration.

The CPT has a $42m insurance payout on the cathedral to spend on the restoration, while campaign group Great Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT) has pledged to raise $15m from donors and about $10m has been offered by the Government.

Matthews is concerned it may prove difficult to raise money for the $30m funding shortfall on the project

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

"I am a Catholic and the church leaders are trying to help the people by making obligations not so tough," says Timu Iakopo, from the parish of Safotu in Savai'i.

"An example is that they have stopped the practice of providing gifts and food for the pastors. Before if there were four pastors at a funeral then all of them will get gifts but now only one is given a gift out of the four."

Timu says the choice of how much is given is also given entirely to the person, "But you know how stubborn Samoans are, they still give a large sum."

"Other churches should follow the example the Catholics have set," he said.

Timu has responsibility for 15 children from his immediate and his extended family.

"I am proud to say that all 15 of them are schooling. That's because I give all my trust to the Lord."

Aside from his strong faith, Timu provides for his family through hard work.

"We make money from coconut pieces," he said.

"I am able to make $250 from three sacks full of coconuts. It's a good honest way to make a living."

But with the demands often exceeding his income, Timu says it's time to go back to relying solely on what they get from the land.

He says the coconuts are a lot of work and he is thinking giving it away and, "just praying to the Lord to give me some money."

In fact he is thinking forgetting about money altogether,"we can live without money if we rely on just things from the land to live on."

"I guess the only reasons Samoan's suffer is because they want things that are expensive, if you live life like me and just make things simple, then life will be much easier.

"People want to eat chicken all the time but I think that's why we have so many sicknesses these days."

Read in Samoan Language

Source

• sobserver.ws
• Image: 1bp.blogspot.com

He also said church elders, some with little formal education, who have passed on, understood that holistic education, is concerned with the education of the "mind, body and soul."

Taase congratulated the Kanana Fou Theological Seminary faculty for their work in preparing those who will serve as missionaries either in Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa (CCCAS) parishes or foreign countries.

But he observed if the graduates cannot do something about their bodies at Kanana Fou, what will happen when they go out to parishes where food is a sign of a congregation's love for their faifeau (pastor).

Taase also has questions about how church resources were being used. He told delegates he had heard that none of the construction contracts that the church put out were completed within the bid amounts.

He said after the contracts were awarded, the contractors sought additional money.

Taase said he's been told that the projects ended up costing twice the bid amounts.

He recalled historical events where farmers, the poor and down trodden, lost their lands, or short changed by the traders and the wealthy, and they could not seek relief from the courts because justice had been bought.

He told delegates they will be given a lot of documents during the assembly, and they should read them carefully as they are reports from the various church committees detailing their work in the past year.

He suggested that as delegates chosen by their parishes to the fono tele (village meeting) they should use the information given them to base their decisions on how to make use of church resources and improve on the missionary work of the CCCAS.

Source

• talanei.com
• Image: ytimg.com