In addition to being
the senior pastor of First Assembly Community Ministries, I’m also a financially contributing
member. Beyond tithing, I give regularly to missions and other projects, and I want to share with you why.
First, I believe in
the mission of this church. I’m grateful to be a part of a church that cares about
reaching people far from God. I’m happy to be a part of a place where the
mission is to build a community where waves of people are transformed by the love of God. Every time I hear a story about a family put back together or a teenager who
decides to follow Christ or a man who finally gets back in church, I know that
my contributions played a small part in that. People’s lives are being changed, and this church is a part of that. Jesus said that our treasure would follow
our heart, so because my heart is with this church, I want to financially
support it.
Second, I want to
be an example to my children. I’m so tired of hearing people complain about the
younger generation…they are just following our example! I don’t want selfish
children, caring only about their iPods, clothes, cars, and friends. I want my
kids to care about other people. That’s not going to happen by accident…I have to
be intentional about modeling that. I cannot tell them to care about others and
then spend 100% of my paycheck on our own needs and wants. Parents, we’ve got
to be responsible for teaching our kids to be generous, and we can’t do that if
we are not generous ourselves.
Third, I give
because God commands me to give. In the scriptures, God commands his people
to tithe, and obedience isn’t an option. Jesus talks a
lot about giving and money. Paul writes about money. He tells Christians this:
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he
has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver.” Every month, we automatically give to our church because that
honors God. We want to honor God, even when it’s difficult, even when things
are tight. There have been times that we’ve gone without something, but we
never cancel the contribution to the church. I’d rob the mortgage company
before I robbed God.
I
do almost all of this online or through the payroll company that manages my check. I set up a
profile on our website tat makes this easy. It’s convenient, and it keeps
me from forgetting to do what’s really important to me. To learn more about setting up a free profile online and even set up recurring, automated giving, click here.
I
want to encourage you to automate the important by setting up your online
giving profile today. You can learn more here about how to do just that by clicking here.
Labels: automated giving, Church life, discipleship, financial stewardship, First Assembly Community Ministries, giving, online giving, stewardship