I think that it is fine for any person to accept assistance from the government. However, where I have a problem is when the church seeks handouts (via a car wash, bingo night, bake sale, yard sales, raffles, etc). The church is the one that is supposed to be helping out, but I constantly see signs of the church seeking a handout. God provides our every need and doesn't require His church to go looking to 'the world' for a charity. Our church has two 'give-a-ways' each year, where church members and even non-church members bring in used (and even new) items to give out. It's a yard sale with no payment accepted or required. We have free movie nights and other free events, where no money is collected. God is our provider. We have no building fund, yet our church continues to grow by leaps and bounds. We continually use what God has provided to reach out to the community. That's why our bank account balance sits close to zero. The back-up plan for the church should be God. He's all we need. If we give, we will be rewarded ten-fold.