New Pledge Card

I was talking to my youngest son who was sharing that his annual review had warranted him receiving a raise at work. As I was thinking about how proud of him that I was, I was also reminded that I needed to fill out a new pledge card. Because the Leadership Team included small raises for everyone on staff this year, I need to adjust my pledge to reflect this increase in income. My pledge is an important act of faith. I also know that I can not expect you to listen to God’s teaching on giving back a tenth of your income if I do not do it myself. I must confess that I haven’t always done it. There were times in my marriage where Jon and I worried about how we were going to pay our bills and we had to give our talents to the church without being able to give a full tithe.

But there came a time where we decided to risk giving a full tithe at the beginning of the month recognizing that we would always have excuses for why we could not. We would always have unexpected bills, repairs and needs that would drain away our resources. My husband is a Dave Ramsey guy so we have been working the debt snowball method for years. When our oldest was about to go to college and we were stressing about what that would mean financially, Jon prayed a dare to God to multiply our gift the promised “ten-fold” from the scriptures. Much to our astonishment, we received a phone call about a week late with Spencer telling us that he had received a scholarship. And guess what?? Yes! It was exactly ten times the amount that Jon had put in the offering plate with his prayer of dare.

Now I don’t recommend daring God. It usually doesn’t work out well. And if Jon had asked me, I probably would have discouraged him from doing so. But God must have felt like Jon needed this small miracle because he had a rocky relationship with the church before meeting me. And we have faithfully tithed to the church ever since. It is a blessing and a joy to give to the good work of this community and we are thankful to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Jon’s tithe still goes to Living Water and my tithe comes back to Faith.

I recently overheard a church member make a remark about how “real churches” give everything they have away to help the poor. And we do not give everything away because we need it to maintain the property, pay the staff and purchase resources for ministry. But we give a lot of money away to help the poor in addition to our funds that are used for the church. We give to many non-profits in the area and support ministry with our neighbors who are unhoused, foster families, teachers, people in crises and others. We do significant ministry and work with those on the fringes who struggle with thriving. If Faith was to disappear, our community would notice and miss us and the work that we do.

I pray that you will see the abundance that God has given you and move to regular giving, increased giving or as a new tither. Not because you feel guilty or because you feel shamed into doing so. But I hope that you give with joy in your heart to be connected to other people of faith, making a difference together for God.

You can find our digital pledge card here, or email Glen.

I will be praying for you as you prayerfully consider your giving for this new year.

Love, Pastor Heather