All this got me to thinking about the challenge we constantly face as a church to fund the work of the ministry. Weekend retreats, summer camps, supporting missionaries, ordering gospel tracts, updating office equipment, paying staff, providing discipleship and counseling materials are all part of church life and ministry. Yet finding enough money for ministry is tough.
Let me share with you a few bottom-line figures. Our General Fund annual budget is $348,000. Our Missions Fund annual budget is $150,000. This gives us a total budget of $498,000.
However, our actual giving thus far for 2008 results in a weekly deficit of $1,000/week for the General Fund and $500/week for the Missions Fund, which means that if this trend continues, our annual giving would total $420,000. This is about $78,000 short of our total budget. Make sense so far?
Now, I did a little calculating based on our church demographics. We get alot of people from all over: Weymouth, Braintree, Quincy, Hanover, Holbrook, Hingham, Abington, Milton, Rockland, Randolph, plus some other towns further out (Bridgewater, Hull, Mansfield, etc.). Probably about half our congregation comes from the Weymouth/Braintree area, and the other half come from the other towns on the South Shore.
With this in mind, I calculated the median income for Weymouth and Braintree, averaging the two together and letting that represent half the congregation. Then I combined the median income for pretty much all the other towns represented in our directory and averaged it out, letting that represent the other half of the congregation. (The two averages were very close, as it worked out.) As it works out based on the above formula, the average annual household income for our congregaton would be $60,000.
Now, get this: If everyone who has a church envelope tithed according to their income, our church's giving receipts would total $840,000 per year! Throw in the loose cash (non-envelope offerings), and we'd be taking in about $875,000 per year!
Think of what could be accomplished with that much money, simply based on our present challenges and objectives:
- Getting the Columbine family to Senegal
- Increasing support for our present missionaries and bringing on new missionaries
- Bringing on a full-time Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries
- Finishing the roofing projects and other critical repairs
- Building a new Welcome Center between the sanctuary and school building
Without looking at any individual names or envelopes, I got the following statistics from 2007. Out of 140 envelopes, 117 gave less than $6,000/year (tithe based on median income for our area). That's 84% of our envelope-givers! Furthermore, 30% (42 out of 140 envelopes) gave less than a thousand dollars for the entire year.
In one sense, these are certainly discouraging statistics. On the other hand, they can be quite encouraging. How? By considering the tremendous strides that could be made in ministry -- world missions! capital improvements! staff additions! discipleship resources! -- if we simply tithed our income, trusting the Lord to provide for our needs.
My purpose is not to get into a debate of the Old Testament tithe versus New Testament giving. I'm simply using 10% as a rule of thumb, remembering that grace always takes us to a higher level than the law. Consider the possibilities! Step out in faith!
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. --Luke 6:38
Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns till be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. -- Proverbs 3:6
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. -- Malachi 3:10
My husband and I have been tithing for around 30 years now, and God's Word has proved true. There was a time when money was very tight, and we were tithing on coins in our pockets. God was always faithful to provide our daily needs, and at times has overwhelmed us with an abundance. We don't give to get - but God is pleased with our faith and our obedience, and He has given us new hearts that want to please and obey Him. We give Him thanks and praise for His goodness and faithfulness.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting and well done piece of analysis. We place our trust in the Lord for our eternal salvation, but sometimes we forget that it is the Lord himself who daily loads us with benefits - whether it be our job, our health - everything we have. Jesus says that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
ReplyDeleteThank u so much for this blog on giving unto The Lord and His local church! This is near and dear to me, especially since I'm a member of the finance committee and see our upcoming needs. I'm discouraged by the statistical analysis that you've provided, yet I'm encouraged by what I've heard about the saints who attend FBC Weymouth. I'm told that when needs were made known, such as purchase of property, buildings in need of repair, sending folks to the mission field and the like - the people responded! It's just like what the apostle Paul wrote to Corinth in 2 Corinthians 9 about their willingness to give and his exhortation about sowing and reaping and how God is glorified by their gifts and "...for His indescribable gift!" Also, I'm reminded about Matthew 6:25-33, not worrying about necessities, but seeking first His kingdom.
ReplyDeleteI say let all the needs be known and let the saints give cheerfully and abundantly!!
Here is a thought (not sure about its accuracy as a statistic) that I found interesting. In a message Mark Cahill gave to a College University, he stated that if everyone that regularly attended church tithed, the churches, in the U.S. would have enough extra money to feed every homeless person in our country. He contrasted that with the fact that many churches are currently struggling with paying their electric bills.
ReplyDeleteMy family has been tithing for quit sometime now, and even though money is often tight, the Lord always provides for our NEEDs. Admittedly there are wants that go unmet, but when you consider what Jesus sacrificed for us and that God truly knows what is best for us, how can we complain?
I just wanted to say that this is an area that I've recently surrendered to the Lord. There was a period of time where I wasn't even considering the importance of tithing. Now It is the desire of my heart in great Joy to give to Lord. I can truly trust God to sustain me and my family-to-be, and provide all of our needs if money gets tight as a result of tithing.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord is faithful and he is sustaining me continuously, not just in times of peril and dismay. It’s because of him that I can even open my eyes every morning to gaze upon the beauty of his creation. It's because of him that my soul is eternally secure and it’s because of Him that I want to give out of a cheerful heart of worship in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.