1. What is generosity in the context of St. Joseph of Arimathea?
Generosity is the natural, consistent, and occasionally spontaneous giving of our material possessions, our time and our talents to God’s service because of and modeled after what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. As God “did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32), so our posture toward God and his Church in response to his love should be one of cheerful sacrifice and generosity.

2. What is stewardship?
A steward is a person who has been entrusted with, and manages, another’s resources according to the owner’s vision and values. Each of us was created for stewardship by God. (Gen. 1:28). A steward is both a ruler, with authority to govern resources, and a slave, accountable to an owner of those resources. The New Testament calls Christians caretakers of God’s truths and gifts – even “God’s grace” (I Cor. 4:1, I Peter 4:10). Some have defined stewardship as “all that we do, with all that we have, all the time.” Still others have summarized it as “all that we do, with all that we have after we believe.”

3. Why should I fill out a Pledge Card?
Of course, no one is forced to fill out a pledge card. Pledges are simply a way of helping the leadership of the congregation budget for the upcoming year. Think of how difficult it would be for you to run your household without some idea of the resources you have available. Likewise, it would be nearly impossible for the congregation to make decisions for the future (such as which repairs to undertake, how much to spend on a particular ministry etc…) if there were not a significant number of people providing some information about how much support to expect during the year.

4. Isn’t giving supposed to be anonymous?
The only person who knows the specific amounts pledged or given by congregants is the receiving treasurer.

5. What is the biblical basis for the tithe?
In the Old Testament, believers were required to give a tenth of their income to the support of the ministry and the needs of the poor. The New Testament teaches that we should give as we are “able and even beyond [our] ability” (2 Corinthians 8:3). The idea of sacrificial giving and generosity becomes the standard (consider the Widow and her mite in Luke 21:1) Therefore, the tithe (10%) is seen as a kind of minimum guideline for giving. This does not mean that we are “bad” if we are unable to give 10% at the moment–but there’s more about that below.

6. Do I give 10% of my gross or net income?
Scripture teaches that we are to give back to God our “first fruits” (Exodus 23:16, 19). Proverbs 3:9 encourages us to “honor the LORD with [our] wealth, with the first fruits of [our] crops,” meaning the primary and choicest of our possessions or gross income. God has modeled “first fruits” giving in offering us his Son Jesus Christ. Our response to God should reflect our love of and devotion to him.

7. What if I am unable to give 10% right now?
There are seasons to our economic life. There are financial responsibilities to our families, friends, communities and, in many cases, creditors. In any stage of life, good planning is necessary to increase our giving over time. This is why proportional giving is a good idea (see the chart below).

8. Should my entire tithe/offering be directed to the church?
Some argue that the entirety of the first 10% of our giving should be directed toward the local congregation. A better way to look at it is that our giving, of whatever amount should be directed toward those ministries that carry out the work the Christ has given his disciples to do. In other words, Christians are called to support those ministries that help the sick, the friendless and the needy; we’re called to imitate Christ and to support those organizations that carry out missions compatible with this calling. If we as a congregation are doing what we ought to be doing, we should all want to support our shared ministry.  At the same time, there is nothing wrong with supporting other organizations that carry out this work, and which focus on a particular area of such work.

9. Are there any guides to help me determine how much to give?
Yes, the following proportional giving chart may be helpful