I do not think churches should have tax exempt status. It is a way for the government to have their boots on the throats of the pastors and other church leaders.
There is a tremendous difference between religious liberty and religious toleration. Until the last century, our civil government recognized and behaved as if our churches enjoyed a co-sovereignty in the land, meaning churches were not beholden to the state for their existence. A church's tax-exemption (even without a 501(c)3 filing) was an assumed status made by both parties, because the civil government recognized that a church owed it's taxes to another Lord, and not to the civil government itself.
Today, however, the civil government decrees that it can award or withhold tax exemption to churches, based upon the terms of the 501(c)3 rules. This is not liberty - this is toleration. If a church becomes intolerable to the government, the government can tax it or even seize it's property. In practice, the civil government behaves as if it is God, demanding tithes from all in exchange for sustenance.
It is my belief that all Trinitarian churches should enjoy an automatic tax-free status with the civil government. Then again, it's also my belief that the civil government should formally declare the Lord Jesus Christ as it's sovereign head, and not tax it's citizenry any more than 10%. If the civil government insists on behaving as if it is God, then I'm in favor of churches appeasing it with tax monies in exchange for avoiding conflicts re "free speech rights".