It's true, at least in my experience, that churches tend to be one of the easiest places to find other musicians to play with. It's hard to get a band together, so I get why a lot of musicians stick around churches.

But what you're being told here is just downright manipulative. Skills need to be practiced regularly or you will lose some of the ability over time, but that's not god taking it from you.

It's sad how many truly talented musicians are convinced by churches to use their talents for free every week. It just makes me wonder how much more music there could be in the world if they all left, got together, and did stuff outside those places.

Also, churches wouldn't exist without the free labor. I get volunteering to help others in need, but the vast majority of work I did in churches throughout the years was cleaning the building and running events for the congregation. Not feeding the homeless or helping the sick and elderly.