Why Pay?
Some people write to me asking why I charge people to be a part of a community.
Let me explain why you pay to join The Lasting Supper:
- The Space: Technically… and some might feel this is too fine a distinction… people aren’t paying for the community but for the space and effort that gives the community a place to meet. Like any group that meets locally, you aren’t really paying to be a part of the community, but to provide the necessary resources to have a meeting place and pay the bills that make it feasible. It’s the same with The Lasting Supper. It costs money to have, maintain, and develop this space for community to happen.
- The Safety: The membership fee provides a gateway, inexpensive but effective, to ensure that those who join are serious about abiding by the values of the community. It really does work in providing a way to help keep the community safe from stalkers and trolls. It keeps out the bad guys! Lots of effort and money goes into the maintenance and development of our site and community. It ensures that it is safe for its members to participate in the conversations without fear of being outed.
- The Satisfaction: This is about value for value. People are working hard to create, develop, and maintain the site and make it a valuable resource to its members. For example, we spend many hours every day working on The Lasting Supper and with its members. We aren’t just a Facebook group. We have weekly resource letters, members-only podcasts, video hangouts, small focus groups, and more! All this requires remuneration. The participating members all say that they are getting so much more value than what they’re paying. I believe it’s true: for less than two lattes a month there’s a ton of benefits to be enjoyed.
- The Support: Sometimes we are contacted by someone who wants to join but also gives strong evidence that they cannot pay. Also, paying members sometime encounter a difficult financial period in their lives. Because we want to help others and care about our members, we do provide the occasional gift membership (available soon). Our gift memberships may comprise as much as ten percent of the total membership. Also, if you are a member who needs a short reprieve because of financial hardship, we may provide a one-month gifted recess. Please email me if either of these applies to you.
