Tithe Sunday
In an effort to connect giving with discipleship and faith practices, the focus of Tithe Sunday is to invite and encourage each household to grow toward a tithe, to a tithe and beyond a tithe as they have been blessed. The third Sunday of November is designated as Tithe Sunday at Grace United Methodist Church. A household can give their usual offering on the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays, but on Tithe Sunday, households are invited to step up in faith and give 1/10 of their weekly income to support God’s work through Grace United Methodist Church. We encourage everyone to participate in this event to see and celebrate the amazing work God can do through this congregation!
Here is an example of what tithing on Tithe Sunday would look like for one family:
The Adams family has an income of $52,000/year - $1000 a week
Currently their usual giving is $35/week – or 3.5% of their household income
On Sundays 1, 2, 4 and 5 they would continue to give $35 each Sunday
On Tithe Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of November, they are invited to “try tithing” which in this family’s case would be giving $100 for that one week. Note this giving of a tithe is intended to be additional giving for the year, not to be offset by lower giving in later months.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tithing
Q. What is biblical tithing?
A. In general, biblical tithing refers to the practice of giving one tenth of one's income for the work of God. In the Hebrew Bible, tithing was understood as a response of gratitude and an obligation. In the light of the New Testament, some Christians believe tithing is still an obligation, whereas other Christians understand tithing to be a loving, freely chosen response to God's gracious provisions for life - God's grace! Tithing is understood by many Christians to be an important discipline of one's faith life.
Q. What are some of the most important Old Testament references to tithing?
A. There are several examples:
“… and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you.” — Genesis 28:22
“All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord.” — Leviticus 27:30
“Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field.” — Deuteronomy 14:22
“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts: see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessings.” — Malachi 3:10
Q. How does the New Testament deal with the opportunity to tithe?
A. We understand that Jesus and the apostles assumed that the tithe was a healthy guide for one’s personal stewardship. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus warns the scribes and Pharisees not to misuse the tithe as an "excuse" for neglecting other weightier matters of justice, mercy and faith. The Apostle Paul follows the same logic in emphasizing that believers should give proportionately, as God has blessed them. In 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, Paul describes the example the Macedonians set for other believers. In 2 Corinthians 8:2 & 3, Paul says directly, “Although they were going through hard times and were very poor, they were glad to give generously. They gave as much as they could afford and even more, simply because they wanted to.” But the enthusiasm for giving in Macedonia didn’t stop there! Looking at verse 12, Paul instructs the Corinthians that they had something very important to learn from the Macedonians. It could be paraphrased like this: “It doesn't matter how much you have. What matters is how much you are willing to give from what you have.” This is part of being faithful and generous! Nowhere in the New Testament is the teaching or practice of tithing repudiated.
Q. When one tithes, is the tithe on gross or net income?
A. There is no definitive answer to this question. One must choose the method that most adequately fulfills the intention of the person or household who tithes. It has been reported that many persons who file income tax returns use their Adjusted Gross Income as the base figure. This decision is clearly in the hands of the giver, and it is the faithful giver who responds generously.
(Taken from the ELCA)
Pledging and Giving
Our vision at Grace United Methodist Church is to be an inclusive community, passionately following Jesus Christ. You may have a few questions, though, about giving your money to Grace. Its important that your money is safe, and gets exactly where you want it to go in support of the mission and ministries of the church, so here are a few answers to frequently asked questions regarding giving.
How do you give money to Grace United Methodist Church?
You can write a check and mail it to Grace at 555 Russell Avenue Wyckoff, NJ 07481. You could also give cash and check donations on Sunday in the worship service. We also encourage you to consider recurring giving as a way to support the ongoing work of the church. By setting up an ongoing gift, you help to reduce the work needed by volunteers who faithfully count the offerings from members and friends like you every week. Visit our website, gumc.org, and click the button to “give” to find our online giving platform called Servant Keeper (this is also our membership program). You can also download the Servant Keeper app called ‘Ministry Keeper’ onto your phone and search for our church using the zip code 07481. Gifts given by credit card have a 3% processing fee, while direct bank transfers (called ACH) only cost 1%, so we encourage you to use your banking information rather than a credit card, if you can, for recurring gifts. The ACH form can be submitted to the financial secretary in the church office
How do I make a ‘pledge,’ ‘estimate of giving,’ or ‘statement of intention’ to Grace United Methodist Church?
Every year Grace UMC used to invite members and friends to make a commitment to support our church financially for the following year of ministry. We appreciate your gifts and pledge, ourselves, to faithfully and securely direct these resources toward the vital ministries of the church. We give thanks for all those who support the church, and those who volunteer their time to make ministry happen in the church and in the community. A ‘pledge’ or ‘estimate of giving’ was a way to signal your intended financial support of the church in the following year. These days we shy away from ‘pledge’ language because of the legal requirements around the language of a pledge. The goal is not to obligate you to give, no matter what; we simply want to be able to make plans for ministry based on your support. Even an ‘estimate of giving’ card, though, can muddy the picture of how much people plan to give, because giving often happens whether a person fills in a card or not. Your faithful giving and support is not dependent on filling in a piece of paper! Today we use something called a ‘statement of intention.’ Its not tied to a particular year; it just asks how much you plan to give to the church going forward. If your financial situation changes, simply give us a call and talk to our financial secretary, who can update your information. You can also pick up a ‘statement of intention’ card in the entryway of the church, fill it in, and drop it in an offering plate. A final option is to submit a ‘statement of intention’ anytime online at www.gumc.org/giving by clicking the ‘statement of intention’ button. This process helps give the church clarity on how much support we can expect, not just for the next few months or year, but in an ongoing way to see ministry happen through the church.
Give generously
Many churches encourage people to give ten percent of their income, describing it as a biblical “tithe.” We recognize the poor are exempted from this (Deut. 16:17, 1 Tim. 5:8) and those with more are expected to give even more (Lev. 27). There is no one right amount for everyone; only give what God has called you to give in your heart (2 Cor. 9:7). A weekly, monthly or yearly gift is most helpful to the church, as regular income helps the church plan for future ministry. Recurring gifts online are the most convenient, while checks are the safest and most cost-effective. Though there are many good places your money could go, the Church is uniquely positioned as the one organization doing not just good work, but holy work. The Church is transforming lives in the name of Jesus Christ, making disciples through worship, small groups and missions. We will do everything we can to make sure every dollar is wisely spent to further the pursuit of this holy mission.
Where does my money go?
At Grace United Methodist Church we pursue several ministries to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. When you give a gift to the church it goes toward supporting our weekly worship experience, small groups that meet at our facility and the missions that impact our community. Some of our key ministries include the Grace Nursery School, youth ministry, confirmation, Bible studies, the worship team, as well as the choir, and Sunday School. We also support Family Promise and the Center of United Methodist Aid to the Community (CUMAC). We helped Family Promise provide over 40,000 meals and almost 5,000 bed nights for homeless families. At CUMAC we were a part of collecting 900,000 pounds of food and serving over 11,000 families through our Paterson ministry. A small portion of all money collected also goes to the Annual Conference, the larger United Methodist body that ministers on behalf of the collective churches across New Jersey. Through the Annual Conference we support: the World Service Fund, which promotes church growth, evangelism, Bible study and spiritual commitment; the Episcopal Fund, which allows Bishops to support important ministries in a timely way; and the Ministerial Education Fund, which helps recruit and educate ministers. These vital ministries transform our community as we seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
How Giving Helps the Church
You might be wondering, “what good will my money do if I give it to the church?” It’s a good question. You’ve worked hard for your money; you shouldn’t just give it away frivolously. I’m guessing God would like us to be good stewards over the money we earn (Matthew 25:20-21), so knowing what your gift of money goes toward is important. At Grace United Methodist Church we set a zero-sum budget each year based on the pledges we receive from those who attend our church. Zero-sum means no one "automatically" gets money, so we don't waste allocating money to groups that don't need it. This frees up more money for ministry! More than 45% of our income comes from those who pledge to our church. The rest comes from those who give, but don’t pledge, special offerings and contributions from groups that use our building. As you can see, pledging is the most important part of our budget, and the one that has the largest influence on how well we can accomplish our church’s goals.
Some have said when you look at the budget of a church you can see what it prioritizes. We have a simple pie chart that gives you a sense of what our priorities are. About 60% of the budget goes toward salaries, and another 20% toward missions and ministries, but we recognize that much of what we pay in salaries is for ministry. Our youth minister is paid to do ministry with young people! Our pastor leads us in worship and visits the home-bound and sick. These are ministries made possible by the salaries we pay. We pay about 5% toward administration (such as inspections and insurance) and then we spend about another 15% on building and maintenance.
This last expense is often a sore point for people. They don’t want to have to pay for building and maintenance. The good news is that here at Grace United Methodist Church you don’t have to! Many years ago people in this church had a vision for a children’s ministry, a nursery school that would serve the community with an excellent educational program for preschoolers. This ministry has grown to be incredibly successful and their income offsets the building and maintenance expenses of the church. Essentially every dollar you give goes straight toward ministries and the salaries that make ministry possible. We are proud of this here in our church, and happy that every gift you give makes it more likely that we can increase the ministries we do in our community. From Bible study to the World Service Fund, from worship to confirmation class, we want to increase our capacity to bless others with the Good News that God loves them and we do too! Your gift to the church allows us to continue these ministries and potentially start new ones. We are always looking for the next right thing for our church and often that means working to meet real needs of people in our church and in our community. We hope you’ll help us do that by pledging or giving a gift today. God bless!
A “Cheerful” Giver
If you've been in churches for a while you've probably heard someone talk about being a "cheerful giver." Its a reference to 2 Corinthians 9:7 and usually that means they want you to give lots of money to the church and not grumble about it. At Grace United Methodist Church we want people to give cheerfully, but we also know that this one verse can be twisted in ways that are not helpful. Read it again from another version of the Bible called 'the Message:'
"I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. "
Don't be manipulated into giving to the church because someone begged you to, or because you felt like you "had to." Give because God has done a work in your heart and you want to respond in gratitude! When the Apostle Paul wrote this verse he was reminding the Corinthian people that they had committed to support his work voluntarily - no one made them do it - but that they should follow through on their commitment.
In our church that means we expect our members to support the work of the church with financial gifts that keep us going. We don't necessarily ask people to give ten percent of their income (that's what many people think a biblical "tithe" is, but actually it was more like 23 percent of your income), but we do ask people to be generous and give all they can to support the important work of the church to change hearts and lives for the good of the world and to build God's kingdom here on earth. For those that are near the poverty level we don't expect them to have to choose between supporting the church and putting food on the table; feed the family first. For those that make more we do expect them to choose between supporting the church and getting more stuff, or supporting other organizations. Only the church is making disciples of Christ, building God's kingdom. This is holy work and we want you to participate in it!
At Grace United Methodist Church we ask each member to assess their finances once a year and commit to give generously as God is generous to us. We ask that you give to the church first instead of just giving whatever happens to be left over. We also ask people to share their stories of how God has blessed and transformed their lives.
But its not just about what you do. The church needs to be responsible, too! That's why we want to move toward a zero-sum budget. That means no money is allocated automatically for groups in the church - they only receive what they can justify for expenses. That saves the church money and means your valuable resources can be redirected toward mission and outreach. We also follow basic good practices of separating those who receive money and those who sign checks. Hilda, as financial secretary, receives your money, tracks it and will draft checks, but can never sign them. Andy does payroll for us and Alma oversees the committee, making sure everything is working right. She also makes sure your money is safe by having two people from different families count it each week. We are audited each year by someone independent and outside of our finance committee - obviously they do not have check-signing authority. We do everything we can to make sure your money is safe and that it is directed towards the missional purpose of the church, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Call the church office if you have any questions or would like to look at our financial records. We keep no secrets here!
So with that, we invite you to give generously to support the work of the church as a “cheerful” giver. Amen!