Tithing – committing one-tenth of your income to the work of God’s church as described in the Bible – is one way to decide how much to give.
Prayerfully consider if you are ready to make the commitment to the spiritual practice of tithing. If you are, calculate your income and set 10% aside as your tithe offering. Once you know the dollar amount that represents your tithe offering, you can divide that amount into weekly or monthly payments. If you are new to tithing, 10% may sound like a lot to give, but experienced tithers will testify to the fact that God has a way of giving us what we need when we need it. You will not be left wanting. If you are not ready to commit to 10%, it is still useful to think about what percentage of your income you want to dedicate to the church and grow from that starting point.
Another way to think about how much to give is to consider the church’s annual budget and how many of us there are to help carry that financial load.
As a congregation, we have voted to approve an annual budget of $1,191,043 (which is equal to a weekly need of $22,905). If we divided that weekly budget number by 300 – the approximate number of church “giving units” (the individuals, families and organizations who contribute to the church) – the amount for each of us would be approximately $76 per week or $305 per month or $3660 per year. 
Coincidentally, $305/month would represent almost the tithing amount of someone who makes about $40,000 per year. We know that there may be people who make less than that amount in our congregation and that there are many who make far more. We also know that many of us have financial burdens that others may not know about – for example, some are supporting elderly family members, dealing with medical bills, making student loan debt or tuition payments, etc. Yet the 2022 and 2023 records show that more than half of the “giving units” in our church gave $1000 that year or less, in other words $20 per week or less. Can we do better collectively? We think we can. If you are prayerfully considering how much to give, and you are not ready to tithe, it is useful to think about how much annual “budgetary weight” you are carrying now, and whether you are doing the best you can to do your part – and perhaps to help do the part of someone who may be less financially able than you are – to ensure our church will thrive now and in the future.
God encourages us to be generous in what we share with our church and faith community. In 2024, as we prayerfully reflect on our individual blessings and God’s grace, let us shift together from practicing stewardship from a sense of duty. Instead, we have the opportunity to give from a position of grace. Through our giving, we can create the change we want to see in our church, community, and world. Our income sources are diverse, and all of our human, social, and financial resources have equal value. Through stewardship, we become collaborative partners in God’s work and that of building His kingdom one day at a time.
When should members give? The schedule of giving may depend on whether you want to put your offering in the collection plate each Sunday or if it is more convenient to use technology and make an automatic monthly payment from your bank account. Either way can work. What matters most is consistent giving as that provides steady and reliable support that we can count on for our First Church ministries.
