My church started pledging a few years ago. Pledging is a process where each family, household or giving unit is asked to complete a form indicating how much money they expect to give in the coming year. Churches can use it to plan their budget so they don’t spend significantly more or less than people expect to give – less likely to have a surprise surplus or deficit!
I’m on the finance committee now and I know that pledging helps the committee plan the annual budget. But the more interesting piece was the effect pledging had on my husband and me. Pledging forced us to go home and actually think and talk about how much we gave to the church.
Money is the last big taboo. We’re pretty silent about incomes, giving, saving debt and spending, even amongst family and close friends. We did talk about money in our house but I don’t really recall any conversations about giving, at least not until the pledging card showed up in our church mailbox. Once home, we set aside some time to look at our income and talk about what we felt we should be giving and what we could be giving. We ended up giving a lot more than we had previously, all because of a card and a conversation.
We’ve also set an annual target giving amount and, if it’s not all out by end of November, we sit and figure out where it’s going to go before the end of the year. It’s kind of fun to have some extra giving money available to meet needs and opportunities that arise.
What about you? Have you ever really thought about giving? Do you give already? Have you ever talked about it?
Thanks for this, Sherri. Our church (Shantz Mennonite Church) just had a Sunday school discussion on this - more specifically, tithing. A crucial point that I personally struggle with is the premise that our resources including $, are NOT our own! They are blessings from God, and the least we can do with these monetary blessings is to give back 10% to the church. That's something I definitely struggle with and I don't come near to 10%... I remember when I was making less money, it was much easier to give 10% or more... why is it that the more I have, the harder it is to give away?
ReplyDeleteA practical tip my friend gave me was to just create a separate "tithe account" at the bank and to put 10% of your yearly/monthly earnings straight into there and to give away from there. The rest is what I have to work with, my 'working budget' ... I haven't had the courage to do that yet, but I think I need to.
Thanks for sharing Ken.
ReplyDeleteI have done what your friend suggested. Each month 10% of my income gets transfered from my main account into a separate giving account. I like this because it is easier to give off the top rather than trying to play catch up. I don't have to wonder about how much I have given. And giving off the top reminds me that the money isn't mine in the first place. I am just a steward of the resources that God has given me.
Any other ideas out there?
Thanks for the discussion starter, Sherri.