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2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for GOD loves a cheerful giver."

2 Corinthians 8:5 "And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with GOD'S will."

Matthew 25:40 - "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

Theology: 2 Corinthians 9:7

We are to purposely decide how to share the gifts that GOD has blessed us with. Our giving is to be deliberate according to our heart. It is not to be rushed, a last minute decision, but instead, a decision guided by the Holy Spirit in our lives. With unfounded consideration, we may not give back to GOD as we know we should and, therefore, hinder our relationship with Him out of guilt. We can also hastily decided to give more than we intended and will regret our gift later. our gifts need to be decided and measured in the context of our relationship with GOD.

We are not to make our gift under any pressure or in an amount that we really do not want to give, not grudgingly or out of necessity. We are not giving our fair share of a budget because it is our obligation. We are not to give to the church because of pressure applied by the leaders of the church or the necessity to satisfy a need we are obligated to. We should freely give our gift to GOD through the church as the Body of Christ.

Do we not seek to find GOD's love? We know it is there and we realize it is a very rich blessing to bask in GOD's love. Now we see that GOD loves a cheerful giver. yet our ability to be a cheerful giver is predicated on our relationship with GOD. We cannot be a cheerful giver if we do not have a loving appreciation for the recipient. Our stewardship is an outward expression of our relationship with GOD. To be cheerful, we must truly love GOD.

Paul was surprised by the process the Macedonian church followed to determine their gift. They gave themselves first to the Lord so they could give their gifts within the will of GOD. In like manner, we are called to give ourselves to GOD. When we do this, we have full knowledge that all we have b belongs to GOD.

When we realize that all belongs to GOD, then we can have an appreciation for the wonderful gifts and blessing that GOD has given to us. We can also respond to His call when we are to give according to His will. When we consecrate ourselves first and then our gifts, we know GOD accepts our gifts and they will be used to His good purposes.

Matthew 25:40

These are some of the most powerful words that our Lord has given to us. It is a blueprint to our salvation. The parable of the "Sheep and the Goats" very clearly tells us when we serve our brothers and sisters in need, we are doing it for our Lord. We need to see that our gifts are in fact going to GOD's good purposes and not our own self-indulgences. We need to see the church and ourselves in missions, serving the needs of others. We need to see our gifts serving GOD's will.

Conditions Prevailing to Faith to Give

Church Members:

Church members are typically under heavy pressure to contribute their fair share or obligated share of social, arts, or other tax exempt programs (501 c-3). From thins there develops an attitude of giving what is left over after the family or individual financial needs are satisfied. With advertising and peer pressures, we are assured that this satisfaction is never achieved.

The hawking of needs by the church only brings the church down to the level of competing with other charitable organizations. The real issue needs to be a sense of giving back to GOD a portion of the wonderful blessings we have received. Before a church member can do that, they must appreciate where they are in their faith travel. They need an understanding of their relationship with GOD.

The Church:

The church is under heavy pressure to meet a budget and sometimes gets very frugal. An attitude prevails that if we do not have the money in hand then we cannot spend it. This often becomes encumbering to any outreach ministries. The end result is a church seeking self-survival. All monies are internally consumed and there is no room for GOD to do His wonderful work through the church. The Body of Christ is not in mission and the membership does not have a sense of their gifts going to GOD.

The Body needs to see the opportunities before them to join GOD and walk ever closer to Him while they are serving or contributing to fulfill His will and purpose. They need to know they are truly giving to GOD by having ownership in the outreach programs of the church.

The church Finance and Stewardship committees know their giving patterns very well. In fact, they can very easily and accurately predict future gifts based on the giving patter to date. The use of a 12-month moving total (adding the current month gifts and subtracting the prior year equivalent month gifts so that each total is the equivalent of a 12-month period) is an excellent forecasting tool. Minor adjustments should be made for 4 versus 5 Sunday months to even out the graph or chart of the giving pattern of the church.

Faith to Give Program Structure

Outreach:

The church outreach committees design and build a plan to enhance their programs with the faith that they will have the resources available. This needs to be Christ centered and led by the Holy Spirit. The programs must be viable at many levels of funding.

Members of the church need the opportunity to physically serve and participate besides their financial support. They should have a feeling of ownership due to their input into the programs and understanding of how and why they are according to GOD's will and an answer to prayer.

Note: It is important not to build up operating expenses and add staff during the "Faith To Give" program. This is an easy temptation, however, such expenses take away from the success and meaning of the program.

Church Member Gifts:

Church members will be given a pledge card on the morning their gifts are to be consecrated. The pledge cards are to be sealed in a mail able, self-addressed envelope by the member. The pledge card is to be mailed back (unopened) to the member after a nine month period as a reminder of their commitment. They are told to reach out in their faith with their commitment, to let GOD into their lives so they will have the ability to fulfill their pledge. The unopened pledge is a re-enforcement that their gift is to GOD and an expression of their relationship with GOD.

Faith To Give Process

Two Months Before Day of Gift Consecration:

An Outside Leader is to be employed to explain and direct the program with the "Faith To Give" committee. The committee should consist of leaders from Finance, Stewardship, Missions, Worship and any other special outreach leadership. The Outside Leader should spend time with the Finance leaders to prepare them for a new way of thinking, analysis, and means of reporting. Also at this meeting, all promotional programs which will start six weeks ahead of Pledge Sunday should be decided.

All committees of the church are to formulate their plans for the coming year. Their anticipated budget is to be adopted by the governing boards and the programs presented to the congregation. The congregation is then asked to react, support and, in general, get excited about the church being in mission to see the Body of Christ in action.

Opportunities of program expansion are to be presented with what resources that will be necessary for their fulfillment. Ideally, several levels will be presented so a real sense of accomplishment can be realized.

Six Weeks Prior To Pledge Date:

An article is to be written and placed in the church newsletter explaining the "Faith To Give" program. Also, the article should explain the mission opportunities that are available to the church.

Three Weeks Prior To Pledge Date:

Faith To Give Chairman goes to all Sunday Schools (children and adult) and asks them to make individual expressions about what their relationship with God means or to express what are the greatest blessings GOD has given to them. These expressions can be in art form (posters hung around the church), skits, song or testimonials.

A church leader stands before the congregation and offers a vision of how they see the church in mission, why it is their passion, why they feel moved by GOD to support such a program. Explain how the program is a way for them to reach out in their faith.

Two Weeks Prior To Pledge Date:

A different church leader stands before the congregation to express their passion for outreach and how GOD has supported them when they reached out in their faith. This is not to be self-gratifying in any way, but to be presented to the glory of GOD.

Pastor is to work "Reaching Out In Our Faith" as part of his message that morning.

Posters are to be posted, skits or music presented all with an attitude of joy and thanksgiving.

One Week Before Pledge Date:

Presentations are the same as prior week along with handouts about the "Outreach Programs" of the church. Same person presents a "Step Chart" showing the giving pattern of the church. Chart should be in $5.00 increments showing the average gift per giving unit per week.

Pastor delivers a message about our gifts being an expression of our relationship with GOD.

Pledge Sunday:

Outside Leader delivers a stewardship message.

Congregation is asked to fill out the Pledge Card that is strictly between them and GOD and will never be opened by the church.

Members are told that this is their opportunity to reach out in their faith and have an ever-closer loving relationship with GOD.

Members are told to prepare themselves to start giving their gifts according to their pledge on the start of the new year.

Members are asked to come forward and lay their pledge on the Alter. They are then to offer a prayer to GOD at the prayer rail (or equivalent), consecrating their gift and asking that they will have the ability to fulfill their pledge.

Every Month Thereafter:

On the beginning of every month a report is made by various representatives of outreach committees giving a status report of their activities. This should be done in a sharing attitude so the members will have a continued feeling of ownership and see accomplishment.

Note: During a "Faith To Give" stewardship program, it is very important not to have any other additional capital programs or new outside programs that can divert the gifts that were pledged. No one will know the members have reassigned their gifts to a more popular program.

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