AUSTRALIAN PENTECOSTAL MINISTERS

FELLOWSHIP (APMF)

INQUIRY INTO THE DEFINITION

OF CHARITIES AND RELATED
ORGANISATIONS
January 2001DRAFT APMF SUBMISSION TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INQUIRY
INTO THE DEFINITION OF CHARITIES AND RELATED ORGANISATIONS

CONTENTS page no.

(1) Introduction.....................................................................................................1

(2) Executive Summary........................................................................................2

(3) The Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship (APMF).............................4

(4) Religious and Social Welfare Context In Australia......................................5

(5) The Australian Pentecostal Church and it's Activities.................................6

(6) Key Principals and Criteria for Establishing Definitions................................8

(7) Comments on the Definitions of the Church...............................................9

(8) Comments on the Definition of Charities/

Public Benevolent Institutions (PBI) / Care Activities.............................11

(9) Comments On Other Matters......................................................................12

Attachments

(a) APMF Members.............................................................................................13

(1) INTRODUCTION

This submission is being made on behalf of the members of the Australian

Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship (APMF)

Where possible, a consensus view of the members has been submitted.

Where differing views exist, or where there is additional information that a
church wishes to submit, the churches involved have been encouraged to
make a separate submission to the Inquiry

The APMF is pleased to have the opportunity to make its submission on these
important matters and to play an ongoing role in the decision making
process as is appropriate

The submission has been made from the specific perspective of the
members of the APMF - that is Australian Pentecostal churches and religious
organisations who carry out a variety of different roles in the community

We have not attempted to answer every question posed in the Issues Paper
but rather have focused on the key issues from the APMF's perspective
(2) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The social fabric of Australia is slowly disintegrating

The "casualties" of this trend are to be found in our hospitals, counselling

rooms, welfare agencies, prisons, refuges, charitable organisations and on
our streets

Governments are looking for alternative and additional sources of funding to

address these matters and the general and business communities are being
asked to share the load

Increasingly, the load is falling on churches, welfare organisations and

charities to meet the community's needs

The church brings value to the community in a variety of ways but

specifically in terms of providing a spiritual and moral context for the
community and in caring for the aged, sick, unemployed and
disadvantaged

In this context, a legislative and tax framework which allows churches and
other non-profit organisations to generate the revenue to fund the necessary
programs and to encourage the community to financially support these
activities is a prerequisite if the needs of the community are to be met

The relevant definitions need to take into account the following:

- the purpose of the activity
- the use to which any generated revenue is put
- whether the intent of the activity is to make a profit
- whether the activity is operating in the Christian or secular market place

It is believed that a distinction needs to be made between the definitions of

a ''church" and a "religious institution"

Any organisation or group that does not acknowledge Jesus Christ should
not be able to validly use the word "church"

A "church" is a community of people sharing a common Christian faith or

belief and conducting themselves on the basis of this faith/belief, in
 accordance with the laws of the land and not for the purposes of making a
profit

Any activities carried out by a church, either commercial or non-

commercial, which have as their purpose the support of the church's spiritual
activities, should continue to receive any benefits accruing to a church

Conversely, when a church carries out commercial activities within the

secular community where the purpose is not to support the spiritual activities
of the church, these activities should be treated by Governments/authorities
as if they are normal commercial activities

The term "religious institution" should refer to any other non-Christian religious
organisation who complies with the terms of the definition as outlined in the
Issues Paper

Any activities carried out by a church, either commercial or non-

commercial, which have as their purpose the support, either directly or
indirectly, of the aged, sick, unemployed or disadvantaged, should receive
any benefits accruing to a charity/PBI or care organization

Conversely, when a church care organisation carries out commercial

activities within the secular community where the purpose is not to support
the church's care activities, these activities should be treated by
Government/authorities as if they are normal commercial activities

It is proposed that gifts and offerings to recognised churches and religious

institutions be made tax deductible on income
(3) THE AUSTRALIAN PENTECOSTAL MINISTERS FELLOWSHIP (APMF)

The APMF is a body representing the major Pentecostal churches in Australia

A list of members is enclosed for your information as Attachment (a)

The current Chairman of the APMF is Dr Philip Pringle OAM, who is also the
Senior Minister of Christian City Church, Oxford Falls (located on the Northern
Beaches of Sydney)

The Pentecostal movement is the fastest growing movement in Australia -

having grown 10% in the 5 years to 1996

The members of the APMF represent thousands of individual churches

throughout Australia, varying in size from less than 100 congregation
members to in excess of 6000 congregation members

A significant proportion of these Pentecostal congregation members are

regular attendees at their respective churches - about 92% of church
members on average across Australia attend church at least weekly
(4) RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL WELFARE CONTEXT IN AUSTRALIA

The social fabric of Australia is slowly disintegrating as marriages fail, families

split, relationships breakdown, young people increasingly resort to suicide
and community structures begin to crumble

The community in various forums bemoans the lack of behavioural

standards, the reduction in moral standards and the lack of ethics of
previously respected community institutions

The pace of life increases and people struggle to cope with the growing
demands of everyday life and the ever changing environment

Our young people have an increasingly pessimistic and anxious view of life
and their futures

The "casualties" of these social trends are reflected in our hospitals,

counselling rooms, welfare agencies, prisons, refuges, charitable
organisations, churches and on our streets

At the same time that this is happening, the Government is increasingly

looking for alternative and additional ways of funding its response to these
matters

The community is being asked to accept more responsibility via "mutual

obligation" and the Government is encouraging the business and general
community to help share the load via philanthropy, charity and donations

Increasingly, the load is falling on churches, welfare organisations and

charities to fill the ever increasing gap between the need in the community
and the resources available from Government sources

In this context, a legislative and tax framework which will allow both
churches and other non-profit organisations to generate the revenue to fund
the necessary programs and to encourage the community to financially
support these activities is a prerequisite if the needs of the community are to
be met
(5) THE AUSTRALIAN PENTECOSTAL CHURCH AND ITS ACTIVITIES

The church brings value to the community in the following ways:

- it provides individuals with a sense of purpose
- it establishes moral standards
- it encourages honest and sincere behaviour
- it advocates obedience to the laws of the land
- it builds character in individuals
- it encourages families and family life
- it provides a basis for the community, for accountability, for community
support structures and for encouragement

Pentecostal churches in Australia conduct all the spiritual activities normally

associated with traditional church life, such as:

(a) SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES

- Church services
- weddings, funerals and water baptisms
- Sunday School/Children's Church
- Youth Church
- pastoral and spiritual support of congregation members
- meeting the material needs of congregation members
- smallgroups/cell groups
- evangelism/propagating the word of God
- planting/establishment of other churches
- support for Missions activities in Australia and overseas

These activities are funded by gifts and offerings from the congregation

In addition, many Pentecostal churches (but not all churches) also carry on
other activities designed to directly propagate the word of God and/or to
raise funds to support the traditional spiritual activities outlined above. These
activities include:

(b) SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

- the production, marketing and distribution of Christian music product
- the production of Christian television programs
- the production, marketing and distribution of Christian books and other
printed material
- the management of Christian book stores, normally located on the
Church site
 - the conduct of Christian educational activities in the theological,
creative arts, counselling and spiritual leadership fields
- the management of cafe style activities for the benefit of congregation
members and students
- the conduct of Christian conferences and seminars

In addition, many Pentecostal churches (but not all churches) also carry out
a variety of other functions designed to support and care for the aged, sick
and disadvantaged in the community. These activities include:

(c)COMMUNITY WELFARE ACTIVITIES

- the provision of food, shelter and clothing
- opportunity shops
- nursing homes
- medical centers
- refuges for disadvantaged groups
- financial assistance
- counselling services
- employment agencies
- re-employment training
- work for the dole (mutual obligation) programmes
- life skill equipping programs
- drug / alcohol / rehabilitation programmes

These activities are funded directly from church resources, revenue

generated from the activities themselves and donations from congregations
and the community
(6) KEY PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING DEFINITIONS

In terms of the religious and social welfare context outlined in section (4)
above, the Church plays a vital role in the community in both providing a
spiritual belief system and structure for a large proportion of the community
and in caring for an increasing number of the aged, sick, unemployed and
disadvantaged in the community

The definitional structure established needs to provide Churches with support

which will allow them to:
- provide an opportunity to the community for freedom of religious
expression
- provide a belief system which, if adopted by more in the community, will
result in a reduction in many of the social problems facing Australia today
- help care for the less fortunate in the community
- share the financial load of these activities by securing support from the
general and business communities
- take initiatives to generate additional funding for their spiritual and caring
activities, thus reducing the support required from Governments
- co-operate more closely with Government and non-Government
organisations

The definitions need to take into account the following:

- the purpose of the activity-in other words, is it supporting the spiritual and
caring focuses of the Church
- the use to which any revenue generated is put
- whether or not the intent of the activity is to make a "profit" for the
organisation or individuals concerned
- whether or not the activity is operating in the Christian or secular market
place

Activities of Churches in the commercial/secular world where a significant

proportion of the funding is not provided for the support of the spiritual/care
activities of the organisation, should be treated by Governments and other
authorities as normal commercial operations

Conversely, Churches conducting "commercial" activities where the purpose

of the activity is to provide significant financial support to the spiritual and/or
caring roles of the organisation, should continue to be treated as
churches/religious institutions or charities
(7) COMMENTS ON THE DEFINITION OF THE CHURCH

In this submission, we have not tried to propose a formal set of words

covering the definition of a church or religious institution but rather focused
on providing comments on the main issues as we see them

We would like to make a distinction between the definitions of a "church"

and a "religious institution"

The word "church" comes to the English language from the Greek 'kyriakon"-
meaning "of the Lord"

Any organisation or group that does not acknowledge Jesus Christ should
not be able to validly use the word "church"

A church is therefore a community of people sharing a common Christian

faith or belief and conducting themselves on the basis of this faith/belief, in
accordance with the laws of the land and not for the purposes of making a
profit

A church will carry out most (if not all) of the activities outlined in 5(a) above

In addition, a church will often carry out additional commercial activities

within the religious community (as outlined in 5(b) above) where the purpose
of the activity is to support the normal spiritual activities of the church (as
outlined in 5(a)) and not to make a profit. These activities should continue to
receive any benefits accruing to a church as long as their purpose is to
support the spiritual activities of the church

In addition, a church will sometimes carry out these same commercial

activities (as in 5(b) above) within the secular community, where the purpose
of the activity is still to support the normal spiritual activity of the church and
not to make a profit. These activities should also continue to receive any
benefits accruing to a church as long as their purpose is to support the
spiritual activities of the church

When a church carries out commercial activities within the secular

community where the purpose is not to support the spiritual activities of the
church, these activities should be treated by Governments and authorities as
if they are normal commercial operations
 The term "religious institution" should refer to any other non-Christian religious
organisation who complies with the terms of the definition as outlined in the
Issues Paper
(8) COMMENTS ON THE DEFINITION OF CHARITIES/PUBLIC BENEVOLENT
INSTITIUTIONS(PBI)/CARE ACTIVITIES

Many churches, in addition to their spiritual activities, also carry out a range
of activities to care for the aged, sick, unemployed and disadvantaged in
the community

These activities are normally funded from church resources, donations,

Government support and where appropriate, funding raised from the
activity itself

To minimise impact on Government funding, to share the cost of these

activities more widely with the community and to maximise the reach of the
activities, the definitions of charities/PBI's etc need to be flexible and to
encourage financial support, where the funds are being utilised for care
activities

Church activities in this area fall into a number of different categories:

(a) churches caring for the aged, sick, unemployed and disadvantaged
where funding comes directly from church resources
(b) churches caring for the aged, sick, unemployed and disadvantaged but
funded from non commercial activities e.g. fund raising, raffles etc
(c) churches caring for the aged, sick and disadvantaged but funded from
commercial activities where the benefit goes directly to the recipient
e.g. opportunity shops, used clothing etc
(d) churches caring for the aged, sick, unemployed and disadvantaged but
funded from commercial activities where the benefit goes indirectly to
the recipient e.g. the sale of products where the proceeds go to the
aged etc

All of the above activities need to be encompassed under any definition

agreed for charities / PBI's or care organizations

As with the definition for a church, when a church care organisation carries
out commercial activity where the purpose is not to support care activities,
such activities should be treated by Governments/authorities as normal
commercial operations
(9) COMMENTS ON OTHER MATTERS

(a) Gifts /Offerings To Be A Tax Deduction On Income

The spiritual / care activities of churches bring an overall benefit to the

community, as outlined elsewhere in this submission

These activities therefore need to be encouraged

Donations to charities/PBI's are currently tax deductible

Churches often fund care activities directly out of church resources and
would do more in this area if additional financial resources were available

It is proposed that tithes and offerings to recognised churches and religious

institutions be made tax deductible on income

This is already the case in NZ (up to a maximum annual limit) the USA
Attachment (a)
AUSTRALIAN MINISTERS PENTECOSTAL FELLOWSHIP (APMF) MEMBERS LIST

Reverend Don Baker Pastor Joseph Bowes Dr David Cartledge

Calvary Chapel Life Centre Southern Cross College
PO Box 97 35 Corio Street PO Box 125
GEORGES HALL NSW 2198 GEELONG VIC 3220 CHESTER HILL NSW 2228

Pastor Greg Cush Dr Barry Chant Reverend Mark Conner

Wollondilly Christian Church Tabor College Waverley Christian
PO Box 432 10 Kiama Street Fellowship
PICTON NSW 2571 MIRANDA NSW 2228 PO Box 140
VERMONT VIC 3133

Pastor Greg Cush Pastor Andrew Evans Pastor Danny Guglielmucci

Wollondilly Christian Church Paradise Community Southside Christian Centre
PO Box 432 Church PO Box 93
PICTON NSW 2571 2 Crowley Road OHALLORAN HILL SA 5158
PARADISE SA 5075

Pastor Shaun Hansen Pastor Brian Houston Pastor Stuart McClelland

Dunamis Christian Centre Hills Christian Life Centre Full Gospel Churches of
3791 Pacific Hwy PO Box 1185 Aust. Ltd
Tanah Merah QLD 4128 CASTLE HILL NSW 2154 184 Williams Road
CABOOLTURE QLD 4510

Reverend Pat Mesiti Pastor David McDonald Pastor Neil Milne

Youth Alive Christian Outreach Centre Adelaide Christian Centre
PO Box 1195 PO Box 2577 Intl
CASTLE HILL NSW 2154 MANSFIELD QLD 4122 27 Sturt Street
ADELAIDE SA 5000

Reverend Jim Newton Pastor Paul OSullivan Pastor Phil Baker

Word of Faith Northern Beaches Christian Riverview Church
PO Box 281 Centre PO Box 524
FORESTVILLE NSW 2087 PO Box 230 VICTORIA PARK WA 6979
TERRY HILLS NSW 2084

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