Churches and Christian charities are now subject to closer scrutiny by the Charity Commission. Although this gives rise to some concerns, the new obligations also give opportunities for the gospel.
The legal landscape within which churches and Christian charities operate has changed radically in recent years. The Charities Act 2006 contained two particularly important provisions. The first is that all churches with an annual income of more than £100,000 must now register with the Charity Commission. The second is that all charities are required to demonstrate and report on the way in which their activities benefit the public.
Registration
The obligation to register as a charity encompasses all churches that were previously ‘excepted’ from registration. Churches have always been regarded as charities in legal terms, and the Charity Commission has had power to investigate churches. Until the 2006 Act, however, most churches were not required to register, and there was, therefore, no regular oversight of them. The state effectively acknowledged that its jurisdiction did not encompass ongoing supervision of excepted churches. That acknowledgment has ended. (Those with an income of less than £100,000 will probably also no longer be excepted after 2012.)
