...I would commit the church to giving 20% of its revenues to directly aiding the poor. Start that as a consistent standard from the beginning.
But this may be the voice of inexperience speaking. I haven't pastored a church yet, let alone planted one. Pastor-readers, could you tell me if this idea could actually work?
Monday, June 06, 2005
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3 comments:
John,
I think you can do this. If you set it up as a part of the mission of the church and vision then you can do anything. I would say that many churches already designate close to %20 of their budgets to "missions", not the least of which is "benevolences/apportionments" for the UMC. The real kicker is to designate the kinds of charities or functions for the giving. If it is just a general pastor's discretionary fund that is going to be a harder sell than a food pantry/soup kitchen/ medical assistance/utilities help type of ministry. As I had someone in my congregation tell me when I first arrived...'If you can kick it, I can sell it'...in other words the more concrete the charity or kind of ministry the easier it is to develop the giving that goes with it. Camperships are one of the easiest to get, and are about as nebulous in the "what is it being used for" category as I have been able to grow support for, but that may be because I haven't been in location long enough to gather the political capital to make the necessary pleas for aid.
Blessings,
Rev. David Camphouse
10% a better figure to aim at.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, which is now celebrating its 50th anniversary, has had a policy of "tithing" all of its revenue to mission since its inception. MDPC gives 10% of all pledged income and of all money raised for capital campaigns directly to programs or organizations that help the poor.
MDPC is one of the largest Presbyterian Churches in the country--clearly this policy is successful.
I'm not a pastor OR a member of MDPC but am aware of this through my work in our presbytery and because I have relatives who are members. Check them out--its a wonderful policy to have from the very beginning. Their overall budget for mission and outreach exceeds 20%.
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