Money Moves the Ministry

Phil. 4:15-18

Reported giving to the local church

9% of born again Christians tithed their income to churches in 2004.
The average cumulative donations to churches by evangelicals totaled $2097. For evangelicals, cumulative donations totaled $2097. (2000) Among the born again population, which represents 38% of all adults, the average giving to churches in 2003 was $1411, much higher than a year earlier ($1220), but below previous year’s totals. (2004)
Close to two out of every three households (63%) donated some money to a church, synagogue or other place of religious worship during 2003. That percentage has remained constant since 2001, but is somewhat lower than the number of church donors identified in 2000 and in 1999 (66%).
When contributions are examined as a percentage of household income, giving to religious centers represents about 2.2% of gross income. (2003)
In total, one out of every twenty households (5%) tithed their pre-tax income to non-profit organizations. (2003)

I. Every Christian Should Give faithfully.

The Bible says, “the just shall live by faith.” Giving goes hand in hand with living.

Principals to faithful giving:

A. I am bought with a price and am not my own. Everything I have is the Lord’s.

B. Trusting God to meet all my needs enables me to give in faith.

C. Giving without receiving is faith in motion.

In the case of the Philipians, Paul commended them for giving even when it hurt or they experienced lack thereof.

He called this type of giving, “fruitful”

II. Every Christian Should Give Generously.

The common answer to such a statement is, “I can’t afford to!

Yet, the truth is that you can’t afford not to!

7 keys to generous giving:

1. You must live within your means.

2. You must work hard.

3. You must be frugal.

4. You must see to the needs of others.

5. You must engage in systematic giving.

6. You must tithe.

7. You must participate in free will offerings.

There is a story of a king who gave freely of his riches to all within his kingdom. Anyone who had need of anything could come to him and would receive all that he needed. One day the king died and his son desiring to build a memorial for the king, asked all his loyal subjects to give generously to the kings memorial. The people were selfish and did not respond, nor would they give. They said they were poor and needy and could not afford to give anything. The son was shocked by the attitude of the people, but proceeded to setup the memorial based on the donations received. When the memorial was finished it was found by all to be a mere wooden plaque that read, “To our beloved and most generous king, we dedicate this monument as a testimony of our appreciation and love for the generosity shown to us through the years.”