We mean free of cost and copyright restrictions.
There are many Christian resources that are given free of cost, but such resources are still forbidden from being copied, translated, or adapted. This prevents much of the world from benefiting from them, especially the least reached. Giving resources free of such restrictions allows believers to use them in helpful ways the original authors may have never thought of.
We encourage freely giving all things that are primarily spiritual in nature, things designed to help others to grow in their faith. This includes:
This doesn't mean printed books need to be free. If resources are free to download, and free of copyright restrictions, then the spiritual content has been freely given. It's fine to charge money for other versions of such content, such as printed books.
This also doesn't mean everything “Christian” needs to be free. This only concerns things that are primarily spiritual in nature. This doesn't include:
Not at all, the Bible affirms it's appropriate to receive wages for the work of ministry. But pastors and missionaries receive those wages through donations rather than sales. We believe that is the best model for Christian resources too, so that they remain free for all.
Yes, hundreds of thousands of pastors and missionaries currently rely on donations alone for their ministry. While there hasn't been a strong culture of doing this for Christian resources, we're hoping to encourage change so that it does become the norm.
The Lord Jesus has freely given us his life (Rom 3:24), and freely given us spiritual truths about him (1 Cor 2:12-13), which we express in the resources we create.
Since we have freely received these things, it is appropriate to freely pass them on. Which is what Jesus instructed his disciples to do in their own ministry:
“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matt 10:7-8)
If you'd like to explore more about what the Bible has to say about freely giving ministry, Selling Jesus is a website dedicated to the topic that argues: "Ministry should be supported, not sold."
Aside from freely giving any Christian resources you've created, please consider simply sharing this website with your church and friends! We recommend sharing our introduction page to start with.
Works in the public domain are not owned by anyone, and have no restrictions on their use.
The copyright of all works eventually expires 50-70 years after the death of the author, at which time such works enter the public domain. However, anyone can dedicate their work to the public domain at any time.
You simply need to indicate that you have decided to relinquish ownership. No formal registration is required. Just writing "This is dedicated to the public domain" can be sufficient. However, because of legal complexities in some countries, it's best to use a well-established legal statement called CC0.
When you add a badge from this website, it links to a page stating that the work has been dedicated to the public domain, including a link to the CC0 legal code. We recommend reading our page and the legal code before dedicating your work.
Publishing your work will always involve risks. Someone may copy and misuse it, whether it remains under copyright or not. Copyright gives legal grounds for enforcing our wishes, but this is something Paul warned us to avoid (1 Cor 6:1-8). The apostles had to deal with people manipulating their words (2 Peter 3:16), but they simply rebuked such people rather than threatening consequences.
In the end, it is your choice whether ensuring free access to a Christian resource is more important than worrying about potential misuse (which in many cases will never occur).
You and others will still be able to share free access to your work, even if someone else is trying to profit from it. Paul encountered a similar situation where some were preaching Christ out of selfish motives, and he chose to rejoice all the same (Phil 1:18).
Some of the people featured on this site use open licenses (such as open source and Creative Commons licenses). We appreciate them choosing such licenses over full copyright, and share the same heart for freely giving.
However, the creators of this site only recommend dedicating to the public domain, as open licenses still enforce legal restrictions, with attribution being the minimum requirement. We believe the issues open licenses try to guard against are better addressed through speech rather than legal consequences.
For more answers to these sorts of questions, please visit the following website which is dedicated to providing a Christian perspective on copyright: