Hey Josh,
Thanks for reaching out, and for your patience with some slower-than-normal response times this week.
Our licenses are indeed an annual subscription—while the plugin will work without an active license, if you want to keep receiving software updates and customer support then the license has to be renewed every year.
I would like to note, as well, that while it doesn’t cover Community Events, we do have a Nonprofit Discount that you can apply for which, if approved, would grant a free license for Events Calendar Pro → https://theeventscalendar.com/apply-for-npp/
I can’t guarantee you’ll be accepted, of course! But you mentioned being a church and so wanted to mention this—definitely worth a shot. If accepted, you won’t get Community Events for free, but would get a 30% discount for it, which is not insignificant 😀
Cheers,
George