We will be including more about this in the future, but this is a common-enough question that a short answer is worth giving. How much do we expect our members to give? Well, let's start with some simple statements:
(1) We do not expect visitors to give anything. They are welcome to--if they believe in the work we are doing and supporting!
(2) We do not publish giving information (any more than we ask members to document their Bible reading). We believe that is between you and God.
(3) Giving is not a test for salvation. The amount of money you give to church will not affect your standing with God in any way.
Beyond that, let's cover some basics. What is a "tithe"? A tithe was an Old Testament practice of giving a "tenth" of your income to God through the temple (to support the ministry work there). Jesus endorsed the tithe (Matt 23:23), but He also challenged people to give far more than that--until they realized that their allegiance was to God and not money (Luke 18:22).
We believe that Paul put it simplest: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income" (1 Cor 16:2). He elaborated on this in a followup letter: "the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have" (2 Cor 8:12), "each should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion" (2 Cor 9:7).
In other words, we let you and God work out how much you should give. We believe that a tithe is a starting point for giving. God has done that to help us keep our priorities straight. We tend to spend money on things we don't need; wouldn't we be better off giving that money to God's work? But Paul has made it clear that for people whose life circumstances prevent them from giving that amount, they are to give what they can and not worry about giving more. God knows our hearts and our desires.
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