How To Be Generous With Your Money

Generosity should come from an overflow of gratitude for the blessings you've received. It's far more difficult to be generous with your time, money, and belongings if you're out of touch with how much you've already been given. Acts of generosity are evidence of faith (James 2:14-17), because you are storing up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).

Discuss generosity during one or more church services, taking care to explore the heart behind generosity and not just the actual act of financial giving. Then let generosity take root in your congregation by making it easy for people to tithe and give online through their bank accounts using an app like Tithe.ly Giving.

For help with teaching and exploring generosity with your church, see the eBook below.

Questions for reflection

1.  Do you want generosity to be more common in your congregation? How can you help make generosity the norm in your church culture?

2. Do you think generosity is worth talking about from the pulpit, even if some people might misinterpret it as being preachy? Why or why not? What are other ways that leaders can encourage generosity without making people feel guilty about their own giving habits?

3. How does our generosity impact others evangelistically?

Most people don't tithe.

A five-year study that culminated in 2013 revealed that “only 10-25 percent of the families in the church [tithe].”

Out of the 205 million U.S. citizens who claim to be Christians, 80% of Americans give only 2%.

The number of people who tithe in your church may differ from the national averages. But probably not by much.

Now think about this:

• What if every member of your church tithed?
• Or, what if the number of people in your church who tithed were to double, triple, or quadruple?

Think about the difference your church could make if your congregation’s giving increased (and increasing online giving).

Blog: How Much to Donate To Church Weekly

Imagine how many people in your city you could reach with the gospel. Envision the number of people in your community you could feed, clothe, or serve in some Christlike capacity. Dream about the number of missionaries you could fully support.

Understanding the full value of your generosity and the needs being met by your giving is important for developing a culture of generosity.

To help you increase giving and to grow your church, we’re going to walk you through the steps you need to take to Unleash Generosity. Here’s a sample of what we’re going to cover in the eBook:

• Learn where to start when it comes to changing your thinking about giving and the church
• Take the pressure off by realizing God doesn’t need your money
• Embrace the truth that talking about money in church doesn’t have to be uncomfortable
• Explore the different types of givers in your church—and how to move each type toward their next step
• Take action to make giving easier for every person in your congregation
• Work on responding to your church’s generosity in the right way

At the end of every section, we’ll provide you with one key takeaway and a few questions for reflection. You can read this entire eBook in 15 minutes or less, but we encourage you to take your time and work on the reflection questions in order to apply what you’re learning.

Let’s get started! Click the image below.

The church is a generosity machine.

Every church has its own unique make-up of people—where generosity comes more naturally to some than others. But regardless of how active generosity is in your church, nurturing a generous culture all starts with one simple question: What does God want me to do?

God can use anything he wants for his glory. He could choose your money, or your talents, or your time, or some other resource that might not fit anyone else’s definition of generosity. Whatever God asks of us, responding with a willingness and eagerness to serve and sacrifice is the first step toward cultivating a generous heart and lifestyle.

Generosity starts with a decision in your heart to sacrifice personal gain so others can experience the gospel the way God intended. It isn’t just about money—it’s about following Jesus in every area of life, including finances.

Conclusion

As Christians, we have the opportunity to live out our faith by generously supporting God’s work here on earth through our churches, parachurch organizations, missions programs, missionaries, and other ministries that are committed to making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).

‍Connecting your head and your heart to God's overall mission is how generosity will truly thrive in your church and beyond.