Tithes & Offerings - a Time of Worship
MATERIAL FROM GENERIS
The link below has some GENEROSITY TIP videos that can help you to understand the power in using the Offering moment to bring teaching on Generous Culture to your congregation.
BEFORE THE OFFERING
Whenever we bring our offerings to God it is a time of worship. It may be in your weekly meeting, it may be home groups or Bible studies or Kingdom tables. However we meet, there is opportunity to teach about giving and present the opportunity to give.
We can be in danger of not bringing the sense of worship that this action requires. When we do, it brings a new significance to what is happening. Take 3-5 minutes prior to bringing our tithes and offerings to God to set the scene. There are a number of things we can do:
Your Story or Testimony: Our stories are powerful. If you have an example of God’s provision for you or your family at a certain time or situation, that would be great. Think of the situation or the need, what was done and what was the result. For example, I remember some very inspiring stories of people who had so little they didn’t have enough for the evening meal. But in faith they sat at the table and gave thanks. What happened next was a true miracle. There was a knock at the door and there was a box of food for them to be able to make the meal. I have heard this type of story and it is often from what we would call ‘the old days’. But these miracles happen today. And if you’ve experienced something like that, then please share.
Interview: If you would prefer to be interviewed by someone, that can happen. I’ve done some experimenting and we can even do it in isolation using zoom. Again, drawing on your personal stories is powerful. Do you tithe? If so, why? What has been your experience? Why do you tithe? Has God ever let you down?
Scripture: There are over 2000 verses which refer to giving, generosity etc. A majority of the parables Jesus told refer to money or possessions. There is so much to learn from the scriptures so if there is a particular verse or passage or parable that speaks to you, then please share.
Song: There are some wonderful songs which speak to us in this area so you may like to refer to some lines from one of those songs and then have it played as the offering is brought. One of my favourites is “Christ is Enough” because it reminds me that I don’t need other things of the world if I have Christ, because He is enough. If you are familiar with the song book there are some wonderful songs there which help bring us into this worship time and remind us that we surrender all to Jesus.
Include Everyone: As this is a time of worship it is vital that no one is excluded. There are some corps and churches who have not moved away from what was called ‘Seeker Sensitive’ thinking from the 1980’s. They thought that by excluding visitors, for instance, from the offering they would encourage people to be there and not have them thinking you were after their money. Not surprisingly this has been proven to have the opposite outcome.
As with all parts of worship, no one is excluded. As we believe God blesses those who put Him first in all aspects of their lives, why would we want anyone to miss out on blessings and growing closer to God? You may have heard people say something like “If you are a visitor here this morning, please don’t feel compelled to give” or “If you are a visitor here, you don’t need to worry about this. This is something just for us who are a part of this congregation. So you don’t need to take part in this” or variations. Just as we wouldn’t think of excluding people from worship through song or scripture or prayer or the message, why would we exclude people from worship through bringing their tithes and offerings to God? We want to encourage everyone to feel free to be involved. If they choose not to, then that’s their choice, at least we haven’t excluded them.
We recommend this video as an example of what could be shown prior to the offering. This is a versatile video and could also be used as a watch and discuss or just sharing very helpful information about giving and being generous.
This booklet may be helpful to you. Please take the opportunity to read it.
Here are some examples of what can be done:
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FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING
We have found that just doing a three week teaching focus on what God says about finances and resources, is helpful and important. However, it needs to be more than that every year. Laying the foundation as you lead up to that teaching period is vital as it gives opportunity for you to plant the seed and then watering it. That teaching period could be seen almost like a harvest as you focus for that time through messages, Bible studies etc and giving opportunity for people to make a commitment or pledge regarding their regular giving to God. It is very helpful for people to be able to make that commitment and gives them something to remember each Sunday when it's time for the offering. We want people to realise that their giving is to God and His ministry through The Salvation Army. There is much more information about this available and would recommend you contact your Generous Culture Coach who is able to talk with you about how to make this real in the lives of all involved. Please email generous.culture@salvationarmy.org.au and a coach will be in contact.
PLEDGE CARDS
As mentioned above, it's important for people to make a commitment or pledge in regard to their regular giving to God through The Salvation Army. Of course this is not a legal commitment in any way, but it's helpful to make this kind of commitment to God. Using a pledge card or you may like to call it a commitment card is helpful for this. We have a few options below but if you'd like to make changes, please go ahead. If you would like to speak to your Generous Culture Coach about this please email generous.culture@salvationarmy.org.au.
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