Offering Questions…

Several questions have been asked about offering:

Would we still have an offering? If so, why?
Yes, we would still collect an offering. The church in the New Testament collected offerings for several purposes: to help the needy in their own church (Acts 4:34-37), to help the needy in other churches (1 Corinthians 16:1-4), and to pay their preachers and elders (1 Timothy 5:17-18, 1 Corinthians 9:6-11, Philippians 4:10-19).

What happens to the offering after it is collected in the group?
Currently, our offerings are collected during our Sunday AM service. Two people count and recount what has been collected in order to verify the amount. A list is made of those donations that are made by personal checks (for tax purposes), and a deposit slip is filled out. Our deposit person makes the deposit immediately after our Sunday AM service. Our treasurer then keeps track of our finances, and generates reports for our leadership team.

In this new model, right now the best solution (and we’re more than willing to take suggestions) is to replicate this system with a few adjustments: each group collects their offering, two or more people count and recount the funds, make the check list, and fill out a deposit slip. Each group would have their own deposit person, who would deposit their offering in the church’s account at one of the branches of the bank our account is at.

What would our offerings now be used for?
Currently, our offerings go toward facility rental, staff salaries, licenses (to project song lyrics and movie clips legally), liability insurance, “living room events” (like the Summer Luau, Fall Fiesta, etc.), etc.

In our new model, we’re having to ask ourselves an important question when it comes to finances—do we write up a budget for the year that has little flexibility (which is the standard practice), or should we budget according to what God is blessing? We will still have some regular expenses (Aaron’s salary, license and insurance renewal, maybe rent for our monthly celebration), but not nearly as many as we previously did, because we’re now trying to get behind what God is blessing financially. Our leadership team will now determine what God is blessing and anything over and above our regular expenses will be spent there. We’ve already determined that God is blessing our groups—that means that it looks like anything above our regular expenses will go back into the groups: to fund COMPASSION/COMMISSION projects and events, to help someone out in the group, to help someone outside of the group.

At first, there may not be much extra. But as the network grows, and as we become sold-out followers of Jesus Christ, and as we’re faithful to God with a little, He’ll give us more to be faithful with.