Offering Amount

JabbaJawz

Be about it
Not to get too personal, but how does one determine the amount of a weekly offering? We have a specific amount we give weekly, but husband thinks it seems high considering we're not rolling in the dough. Is there some sort of baseline, or what? I don't want to be cheap, and I do appreciate all of the activities, especially for kids, that the church puts on. I don't want to be a cheap b@stard...how do the rest of you determine an appropriate amount?
 

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
Look of tithe or tithing on the net. I seem to recall some percentage of your income. For me, it was always what I could afford.
 

crabcake

But wait, there's more...
What exactly does the tithe go to support? I understand the basics -- pastor salary, an admin person salary, power bill, church maintenance, and some community benefit/assistance programs ... but dayum! :shocking: If a church has 150 members who tithe weekly and the average household salary is $45000 (which I'm thinking is pretty conservative), that's $675K a year!

Is there something I'm missing? :confused: Where does this money go?
 

JabbaJawz

Be about it
crabcake said:
What exactly does the tithe go to support? I understand the basics -- pastor salary, an admin person salary, power bill, church maintenance, and some community benefit/assistance programs ... but dayum! :shocking: If a church has 150 members who tithe weekly and the average household salary is $45000 (which I'm thinking is pretty conservative), that's $675K a year!

Is there something I'm missing? :confused: Where does this money go?

Depends on the church I guess - and also, I HIGHLY doubt that most are giving the 10% of their income.

At any rate, my church is PF was great and always doing activities for the community, children in the church, etc... They put on church school 1 week of the year for free, give to scholarships for the youth, assist w/money for retreats, and the list goes on and on.
 

Nickel

curiouser and curiouser
If I'm not mistaken my parents give $20 a week, but a lot of people at our church actually do give 10% of their income. I just give what I can, it varies week by week.
 

Penn

Dancing Up A Storm
JabbaJawz said:
Holy crap!! That is SOOOOO not going to happen! :lmao:
:lol: That's why a lot of people have a hard time wrestling with how much they ought to give each Sunday!

Their minds are aware of what the scriptures say, but their pocketbooks tell them quite another story.
 

2ndAmendment

Just a forgiven sinner
PREMO Member
Since this is in Religion, I guess it is not inappropriate to quote the Bible.

Leviticus 27
30 " 'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD ; it is holy to the LORD .

A tithe is a tenth of your increase. Some say it should be a tenth of the amount before taxes, other say it should be what you actually receive as long as you give a tenth of your tax refund as well.

Mark 12:41-44
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,[1] worth only a fraction of a penny.[2]
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."

She gave more than a tenth. Others despised her gift, but God saw it and honored it by its very mention by Jesus.

Malachi 3:8-12
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. 10 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. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

According to the Bible, God expects a tenth of ALL your increase. That is the minimum. You are to give free will or love offerings beyond that.

I know this seems very hard to do, but if you do not over extend yourselves, it becomes doable and the more you do it the easier it becomes and, remarkably, the more you seem to have just as God promised in the verses from Malachi 3 quoted above.

crabcake said:
... the average household salary is $45000 (which I'm thinking is pretty conservative), that's $675K a year!

OT - $45000 is very high; I think it is closer to $25000. ...

Regarding what the money is used for has many answers. Some churches (lower c) have extravagant buildings and the ministers have large salaries and a large staff and use it for expenses of the church and my give some of it to organizations with much of the money going back to the parent organization for who knows what. Some Churches (uppercase C for Christ) provide adequate salaries for the ministers and staff (which is Biblical and right), give much of it to needy people in the congregation, support other Churches that are just starting, support missionaries, and pay the expenses of the Church. Now there is nothing wrong with having a nice building, but layering one with gold and silver is over the top and those funds could go to much better use building God's Church. As a member of a church or Church, you have a right to know how the money is spent. If the church you are going to won't tell you, I would suggest that you find a Church.

Most of all, pray about what you should give. If you cannot tithe now, plan to and work towards that as you get raises. You will be amazed at the blessings you will receive if you honor God and His word.
 
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UrbanPancake

Right=Wrong/Left=Right
I say give what you can. I wouldn't give 10%. I know some people who 10% before taxes. As far as I can tell they haven't received a lot back from their investment.
 

ceo_pte

New Member
Penn said:
I've understood it was supposed to be 10% of your income?


I was taught that it was 10% of your income. I've seen my parents do it for years and they were always blessed financially. It was hard for us to start, but I am glad that I do it now. We have truly been blessed financially and it continues to grow.... An offering is suppose to be what you give, above and beyond your tithes... At least that's what I have learned.
 

ceo_pte

New Member
dustin said:
Giving what you feel comfortable with is better than nothing at all :smile:

I agree, Dustin. You have to give with an open heart. If you give grudgingly, then you can't be blessed.
 

2ndAmendment

Just a forgiven sinner
PREMO Member
dustin said:
2A,

I have been told it was 10%.

Do you know what verse actually says 10%? Old or New testament?
The Bible says "tithe".

Main Entry: 1tithe
Pronunciation: 'tI[th]
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): tithed; tith·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English teogothian, from teogotha tenth
transitive senses
1 : to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church
2 : to levy a tithe on
intransitive senses : to give a tenth of one's income as a tithe

See previous post in this thread for some verses.
 

UrbanPancake

Right=Wrong/Left=Right
UrbanPancake said:
I say give what you can. I wouldn't give 10%. I know some people who 10% before taxes. As far as I can tell they haven't received a lot back from their investment.

But hey there pastor drives a Benz....
 

2ndAmendment

Just a forgiven sinner
PREMO Member
ceo_pte said:
I was taught that it was 10% of your income. I've seen my parents do it for years and they were always blessed financially. It was hard for us to start, but I am glad that I do it now. We have truly been blessed financially and it continues to grow.... An offering is suppose to be what you give, above and beyond your tithes... At least that's what I have learned.
Exactly. You are right; it is hard to start. For those that don't tithe, I can't judge your ultimate destination, but the Bible is very clear that if you don't tithe, you are robbing God. Considering "You shall not steal", you should expect consequences. I did not tithe for a long time. It is really tough to give up financial control; tithing is evidence of relinquishing finances to God and letting Him take care of it.
 

carolinagirl

What's it 2 U
My pastor in NC says a 10% of your salary before taxes. He also stated that most cannot do this, so you should decide on an amount and stick to that, say $50 a month.
 
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