With all these people throwing their spare won into the collection plate, mega-churches have become big businesses.

ECONOMIST: South Korean mega-churches

Canceled checks are no longer good as the only evidence that you've given to the church collection plate.

FORBES: Cutting Taxes While Doing Good

The ministers there live by the weekly collection plate.

FORBES: The Seminary Bubble

Use checks in the collection plate.

FORBES: Get More out of Your Charity Tax Deductions

We are driven around a site with an interesting collection of buildings, from standard plate-glass towers, to lakeside villas where customers are entertained, and on to what appears to be a replica of the White House.

BBC: China diary: Shenzhen gets smarter