Why is there a membership fee?

Great question, and a fair one to ask. Here's the honest answer.

Plenty of directories are free to list on, but then they charge you every time someone contacts you, hired or not, and you end up competing with every business in the category regardless of faith. We didn't want that.

The $79 a year is what keeps LocateFaith ad-free for the people using it. Everyone here is a Christian business, and the membership is what keeps it that way. It also funds the ads, church partnerships, and content that bring Christian customers to the businesses already on the platform.

It also pays for the part that isn't a listing: the local online groups, the in-person gatherings we back in each city, and the monthly Business Connect call. That's other Christian owners near you sending each other work, which is the thing most members say they actually stayed for.

It comes out to a little over six bucks a month, less than most owners spend on coffee in a week. And the rate you join at locks in for life, so it won't go up on you later even as we raise it for new members.