A few weeks ago we were all given giving envelopes with a pamphlet wrapped around it entitled “my giving at scpc”. I think this was my second Sunday working in my new ministry co-ordinator role so I have only had a chance to read through the document this week.
The pamphlet explains a number of things such as:
- what the Bible says about how much to give and where the guideline of 10% comes from in the Old Testament;
- how the New Testament encourages generosity even beyond that – it is all based on responding to God’s great generosity and how much He has given in His own son Jesus. Our response to God should be not holding back for the work of the gospel.
As a church we are very focused on our mission to connect. grow. serve. and at all times to give our finances in accordance with that goal. There are a lot of ministries within the church that are seeing people come to know Christ and grow in Him for eg. MOPS, Kids Church, Youth Group etc.
On Sunday Scott spoke to us on behalf of the Committee of Management about giving and encouraged us to remember two words when we examine our own giving for the work of the gospel
- Being Generous; and
- Being Consistent
Being generous is really between us and God and being consistent is why we use the weekly envelopes or direct giving. The envelopes work on a weekly basis and the dates act as reminders to help us give regularly (they are not numbered or named – giving is totally anonymous). Sets of envelopes are available from the church office.
I know that this is the first church where I have given electronically and it helps me to be consistent in my giving from week to week. This type of giving is also anonymous and just involves instructing your bank to schedule a transfer directly into the SCPC account (for SCPC account details you can call the office on 6621 3655 or see the “my giving at SCPC” for more info).
After giving a quick update in relation to our budget, Scott went on to say that as a church, instead of getting bogged down in fundraising or in lots of separate charges (eg. tea/coffee, bible study material, kids church materials etc), the support and growth of our ministries simply comes through our weekly giving.
My prayer is that as a church family we can prayerfully consider our role in giving and supporting the gospel work in Lismore, and work towards being consistent in our giving.
Thanks for the blog Jules! If you hadn’t posted it, I would never have known to contact you for info 🙂
Thanks for the informative pamphlet on giving also. It’s good to be consistent in giving and supporting our wonderful church, and I aim to be much better at this!
Good one Rach!