Churches in Canada might lose charitable status. How do we respond?

I’ve only written to a government official a very small handful of times. One of those times was this week. Back around Christmas already, I was made aware that there was a recommendation being made by the Finance Committee of our federal government that would have a huge impact on churches. Recommendation 430 reads, “Amend the Income Tax Act to provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose.” (Of concern for many Christians is also Recommendation 429, which would strip charitable status from organizations that work against abortion). I’m not an expert on the inner workings of budgetary processes, but from what I can tell and have read, Recommendation 430 will likely result in churches losing their charitable status. Again, I’m no expert, but I believe that would mean that people would not receive tax receipts for donations and that it would significantly increase costs and taxes that churches themselves would need to pay. This will place a considerable barrier on many churches to continue the ministry they’ve been doing.

There are a number of petitions that are opposed to these recommendations circulating that you can sign if you’d like. One that was forwarded to me and that closes in a couple of days is here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6586

There are also suggested formats for writing letters to your Member of Parliament, like this one from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada: https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Resources/Government/2025/Ask-your-MP-to-support-charitable-status. That link also includes details about how to find your MP and how to contact them.

I decided to do something a bit different and write a highly personalized letter to our Member of Parliament, Terry Beech. Let me share part of it with you and then comment on why I wrote what I did:

Hi Terry,

First off, thank you so much for all the work you do as our Member of Parliament. I know you work hard and that you care deeply about this community! I pray for you and for others who provide leadership here, that you will be filled with wisdom and compassion. I don't believe we've had the opportunity to meet, but I'm the Lead Pastor at The Bridge Church in Deep Cove…I’m reaching out because I'm deeply concerned about the Finance Committee's recommendation to strip away "advancement of religion" as a charitable cause in Canada, which to my understanding will likely result in most churches (as well as synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship) losing charitable status (I believe it is recommendation 430). I have no doubt that many people will continue to donate money to these causes whether or not they receive an official tax receipt and that our work will continue going forward. I'm secure enough about the truth we hold that I know tax status alterations are not the end of the world. However, it will nevertheless have a significant negative impact and perhaps result in the closure of some of these places of worship that have sought to serve their communities. It seems to me that such a move would display a lack of appreciation or knowledge of what churches contribute to their communities. I know that here at The Bridge, for example, we are able to host a variety of neighbourhood events that bring people together in our community, we put on extremely affordable children's programs that bless families in our community, we have a benevolence fund that is accessible to those in need, we provide space for seniors to gather and build friendships, and so on. None of this makes the news, but that lack of notoriety doesn't actually bother me- Jesus told us we should do our acts of righteousness in a way that it wouldn't draw attention! However, I do believe that if these recommendations are carried through, it will be a massive detriment to our communities and our country as a whole. As someone who I know cares about our community, I am hoping you might be able to see that these recommendations will not produce good fruit in our nation.

Having said all that, I may have misunderstood the proposed changes and how far along they are. It's difficult to find news about it, and I'm happy to become better informed!

Thanks again for your time and your service to our community, Terry.

Many blessings,


I wrote that a couple of days ago, and I’d probably rephrase some things or add some elements now. I maybe should have included a reference to the “Halo Project” (https://haloproject.ca) that found that for every dollar in a religious congregation’s budget, more than $3 of benefits come to its community. I maybe should have included studies that show that Christian faith leads to generally better mental and physical health outcomes, which again is a benefit to the wider community. There are other things that I think about this situation that I left out, probably for good reasons. For example, I do believe that following through on this recommendation would be one more example of how the devil blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4), leading a nation to willingly take a path of decay and death. I said it a bit nicer than that in my letter. But I’m glad I wrote about our confidence in the truth. I wanted to emphasize in this letter that regardless of what our federal government decides to do with churches’ charitable status, and even if some places of worship close down, the Kingdom of God isn’t going anywhere. I’m not anxious about the future of the church, because I know it’s in the Lord’s hands. I know that believers will continue to give financially because their giving is not based on tax benefits but based on their love for the Lord.

I encourage you to consider contacting a government representative about this issue. I encourage you to pray for our leaders, that they will make decisions reflecting wisdom and care for their communities (1 Timothy 2:1-2). However, I also encourage you to not be anxious or fearful. Let’s understand that whatever governments do is not actually a barrier to the Kingdom of God. Churches in situations much less favourable than ours, in contexts of outright persecution, have grown and thrived. I think, too, about the end of the book of Acts. Paul is in Rome, under house arrest for his proclamation of the Gospel, and yet the last words of the book are that he did this “without hindrance”. If we are faithful, nothing can truly hinder the Gospel, not even changes to our charitable status. Let’s move forward with confidence and trust in our Lord.