Jesus talks about money more that he talks about faith and prayer combined...ever wonder why? Jesus knows that there is a strong link between our feelings and attitudes about money and the strength and vitality of our faith.
How we view money speaks volumes about how we view ourselves, God, other people, just about everything. @ Faith✟Journey we are not afraid to talk openly and honestly about money - simple because Jesus does - not because God wants your money - but because it's important.
There are basically four ways that we approach giving to our local congregation
• The Casual Giver: this is the person who reaches into their pocket when it comes time to collect an offering and basically tosses in what they find - sometimes it might be as much as $5, sometimes it is some coins, sometimes it might be dryer lint. In the case that it might be, say a $20, we figure we will make it up next week and put that Jackson back in our pocket. This is the type of person who generally has not yet embraced that all that we have is God's and God only asks for a portion of what God has given us back and the fact that the local congregation counts on a wide base of financial support (just like every other non-profit) to do the things that it is called to do.
• The Hopeful Giver: this is the person that has begun to see the importance (not just for the ministries of the church but for their own lives) of supporting the work of the church. Unfortunately there is no plan to their giving and so often they forget or they wait to give what's "left over at the end of the month." The hopeful give usually determines the level of their giving based on what that gift will cause them to give up. "What will I have to give up in order to give to the church" is the common though process of the both the hopeful and casual giver
It is usually the casual and the hopeful giver that feel that they cannot afford to support the church financially or they think and feel that "God doesn't need my money."
• The Planned Giver: this is the person who has included their support of God's work into their home budget and they commit to making sure that their gifts are made with regularity. This is the person who uses Automated Giving to make sure their gift is made because they know how important it is to the church and to their lives to support God's work. They also have "done the math" and have seen that giving 5%, 7% or even 10% of their income to the church really does not affect their lives in any negative way.
• The Supportive Giver: this is the person who not only plans to support the church, includes their support in their home budget - but also goes above and beyond that giving with gifts to the church that enable ministry not only to continue but to thrive.
It is not the goal of FJLC, nor is it a wise thing to do, to try to jump from "casual giver" to a "supportive giver." We try to encourage folk to take things smoothly and one step at a time.
Below - we offer you a plan to help you discern what level of support is right for you and offers ways that you can enact that plan so that your support is regular and consistent.
As with many things in the the life spiritual, God asks us to engage our hearts and our minds - we call that "discernment." How do we think about and plan to make our financial commitment to the church we call our spiritual home? The next page talks about this and provides some detailed information on how you can figure out how to support FJ✟LC and its many ministries.