Living Generously: Understanding How Giving Really Works at Our Church

Here's a number that might surprise you: only 24% of our church family gives to the church budget. Nearly everyone believes in what we're doing here — but when it comes to the fund that actually keeps our lights on, pays our ministries, and sustains our mission week to week, three out of four of us are sitting on the sidelines.

This month, we're launching Living Generously, a series through the rest of the year exploring what generosity means for our church family — where our money goes, why it matters, and where God wants to bless us and might be inviting us to grow. Let's start with the basics.

Not all giving is the same. About 22% of our members faithfully return tithe — and we're grateful for that faithfulness. But here's what many people don't realize: tithe doesn't stay here. It flows upstream to our Conference office, where it primarily funds pastoral salaries, benefits and other projects across our region. It's a vital part of God's plan for supporting ministry, but it's not the fund that pays for our building, our children's programs, our outreach, or our Sabbath fellowship. That work depends entirely on budget giving — the 24%.

Then there's a third stream: giving toward special projects. This could include supplies for our potluck/food ministry, a new TV for the children's classroom, etc — these get funded because someone stepped up and gave specifically for them. We're always glad to steward those gifts faithfully. But consider this: if our general budget giving were stronger, these needs would already be covered as a normal part of church life. Special-project giving often fills a gap that healthy budget giving would close on its own.

So why does this matter right now?

We have two mortgages we're working to retire: the loan on our Community Center, and the loan on the adjacent land we purchased next door. Paying off the Community Center is our next milestone — and once it's behind us, we can focus our full energy on the land.

That land represents something bigger than an empty piece of land. We believe it's an opportunity God has placed in front of us, and we want to be ready to act when the time comes. One possibility we're praying about is building a Christian school on that property. This isn't sentimental thinking — it's backed by data. Studies show that children who attend an Adventist school are 75% more likely to remain in the church as adults. Few investments we could make would matter more for the next generation of our church family.

None of this happens through tithe. It happens through the budget — through the everyday, ordinary faithfulness of members who decide that giving isn't someone else's job.

Over the coming months, we'll unpack more of this journey together: where each dollar goes, what our giving has already accomplished, and what's still ahead. Our hope isn't to create guilt — it's to create clarity. When we understand how giving actually works, we can give with purpose instead of assumption.

We will also be asking for specific stories of faith where God has specifically blessed when you have given of your time, money or other resources.  Glad to be on this journey as a fellow church member, more to come!