They are aimed at assisting people and not collecting money on behalf of owners. However, a church needs to be run, and it takes money; lights, employees, assisting the poor, and it may take a lot of money. Related Are there any "for-profit" churches?

Understanding the Context

This webinar will bring a range of voices from around the world to share concrete examples of how churches can and are already participating in and promoting... In this post we will talk about what church accounting software is and the differences between churches and for-profit businesses. Let’s look at the Mormon church: The Mormons (which is the for-profit corporation name of the company) has a sub-division in the form of a non-profit business entity called “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”. Note: All churchesare set up in this corporate structure.

Key Insights

Nobody is arguing that all churches should be cripplingly taxed. The few small churches that actually do benefit society and do not make any profit will not be taxed. But none of that has anything at all to do with whether churches (mega or otherwise) should pay taxes. Moreover/as such, this has nothing to do with the IRS -- it isn't the IRS's job to look for civil fraud (the pastor in this hypothetical would be stealing from the members, not the IRS). The establishment of for-profit arms within churches serves multiple purposes.

Final Thoughts

Firstly, it allows religious institutions to become self-sustaining entities by generating income through commercial activities.