Under U. S. law, those who qualify as volunteers must be pure volunteers indeed! Suppose Jenna wants to volunteer as a teacher for the Christian school operated by her local church. Suppose she is willing to teach full-time and to receive no money whatsoever as wages. Under the law, that is allowed.
On the other hand, suppose that the Christian school principal, grateful for Jenna’s sacrificial work, offers to give her children free tuition to express gratitude for her volunteer spirit. Under the law, accepting free tuition is a form of being paid; and if Jenna does this, she is no longer a volunteer.
By accepting free tuition, Jenna’s status is changed from a volunteer to an employee. For this practice to be legal, she must be subject to all the procedures of a regular employee, including minimum wage and tax withholding requirements.
To be sure, the law is rather complicated in matters like these. If you want to keep your ministry legally protected, contact the Christian Law Association. Our attorneys are happy to walk you through all the information you need to consider to make legally sound decisions.