Biblical stewardship of finances

We, as a local body of followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, do covenant together to make disciples of all nations and to promote one another to good works and mature faith in Christ.

The topic of money and giving has not always been well received in the church. It is a valid critique at times because of how money has been handled, or mishandled in some churches, or how scandal has erupted over money being embezzled or used inappropriately. When I hear stories like this it makes me sick. My prayer is that M28 Church will always be a place that has transparency and accountability for every financial gift given to the church.

On the flip side, I think money gets a bad reputation because it exposes our hearts in ways we don’t like. The Bible is clear that money is a very tangible expression of our hearts. We are told to store up treasures in heaven and not here on earth. The Bible says that if we can’t be trusted with what we have here in these days, how can we be trusted with the true wealth of God’s kingdom? Scripture speaks of that every good gift is from God and that we are to give Him praise. Therefore, we are stewards of these gifts for His glory and the advancement of His Kingdom in these days.

Of course, anyone is welcome to give to the church, but I do want to make a special appeal to all the members to worshipfully participate in giving. This is a primary way we partner together to accomplish the task of seeing the Gospel go forth here in our city and to the nations to those we support around the world. Each person has a different life situation, varying income, and a unique margin for giving in any season of life. As members of the church, I pray that we will all give with equal sacrifice, but that does not mean that we will all give equal amounts. 

Finally, it is a great joy to write this short post because God has been so faithful for the ministry we have committed to as a church, thanks to your giving. I truly can’t THANK YOU enough for your amazing generosity over the recent years at M28. Because of your faithfulness in giving we have been able to accomplish the capital improvement projects on top of our ever-increasing budget to our mission partners. Our facilities are at a place that has positioned us to do ministry over time and we have not had to take on any debt or do any additional giving campaigns. In fact, your willingness to give will enable us to do even more ministry in the coming days! Praise God.

If you have not been a regular giver, this is the time to start. Maybe you need to start with a very small amount, but take the first step, give God praise for the gifts He gives you, and join with your fellow members in investing in the work that He has called us to as a church family.

My prayer is that in January of each year we will need to always have a time at the ‘Vision Breakfast’ that kicks off the year to pray over and ask God to lead us in being a church family that is ever increasing in our generosity and support of His work here in our city and to the nations.