Giving is always seem to struggle with. For many pastors, it can be hard to even talk about it in church services.
However, it’s important to inspire your people with what God says about giving. There are hundreds of scriptures on giving to help you encourage members to be generous with their finances.
Before your next offering time, start by sharing one of these scriptures to get your church family to start thinking about giving. You might be surprised at just how effective this is for your church
The Bible Says To Give
As a pastor or church leader, you already know what the Bible says about giving. In fact, you could probably quote multiple scriptures right now that talk about giving. However, you probably don’t talk about those scriptures that often.
Part of your responsibility as a pastor is to help explain the Bible to your members. This includes helping them understand what the Bible says about giving and why it’s so important. Some great scriptures on giving to share with your members and online followers include:
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7
This one is incredibly important for explaining that you should give what you can and want.
For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. – 2 Corinthians 8:12
Yet another example the Bible provides about giving what you can and that that is enough.
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” – Malachi 3:10
Ideal for explaining that giving leads to more blessings in life.
All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. – Proverbs 21:26
Explains that giving is more important than wanting more than what one needs.
You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. – 2 Corinthians 9:11
Another example of giving in which generosity is rewarded.
A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. – Proverbs 18:16
To open oneself to greatness, they must first give.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. – Luke 6:38
It’s important to give in order to receive great things in return.
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. – 2 Corinthians 9:10
Giving to others doesn’t just benefit the recipient, but the giver as well.
And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. – Genesis 14:19–20
Helps explain where the idea of 10% of one’s income came from.
All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. – Exodus 35:22
Showcases the purpose of giving as a way to honor God.
A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. – Leviticus 27:30
Explains that God gave blessings to you and as such, people should give back to God to say thank you.
God’s people faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. – 2 Chronicles 31:12
Shows that giving is about more than just money, but that all contributions are important.
The people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.” Then Moses gave an order…”No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more. – Exodus 36:3–6
Helps explain to your members that giving is what helps the and grow.
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. – 1 Timothy 6:17-19
This helps to explain that you should give back to God in thanks so that you may enjoy the benefits of your generosity later in life
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. – Luke 12:33-34
Reminds members of how good it makes one feel to give selflessly to help those who are in need.
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. – Proverbs 19:17
Giving to others is like giving to God and that generosity is always favored.
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. – Proverbs 11:24-25
It’s always important to give because making others happy is a type of wealth that surpasses financial riches.
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. – Hebrews 13:16
Reminds members that God is happy when they share what they have to help others.
Why Aren’t People Giving
To make sure you pick the right scriptures on giving, it’s important to understand people sometimes struggle to give. The reasons vary greatly and it’s a good idea to do an anonymous poll to see what the reasons are for your church.
If you have an online tithing option, which you should definitely consider, place the poll online too to help you better understand your online church family. The more you understand the reasons, the easier it is to work on the root cause of the challenges.
Online giving provider Tithe.ly discovered many members don’t tithe anymore and also explored the reasons including:
- Trouble with their beliefs – This is often the case with new members and those experiencing hard times after a major loss or change in their lives.
- They’re just trying out your church in their search to find a new church home.
- They don’t understand the reason your church needs them to give.
- Finances are a struggle at the time, which isn’t all that uncommon for many families who barely make it from paycheck to paycheck.
- They’re uncertain why God wants them to tithe.
- They don’t carry cash and aren’t sure how else to give.
Of course, some just don’t believe in tithing at all. Luckily, scriptures on giving are helpful in most of these cases.
Giving, Just Not To The Church
One other thing to consider is that your members may be giving, but just not to your church. Or, they split giving between their church and charities they believe in. Many Christian leaders are okay with this, as long as the church still has enough funds to run.
Before you feel like faith isn’t important to your members, know that faith-based giving is still the top area where people give. This means faith is still a priority, but they want to help support charities and other non-profits as well to help make the world a better place.
In fact, a Lifeway study found that 83% of church goers believe tithing is important. Most believe that it’s okay to split their giving between other Christian charities, including giving to other churches. However, 18% believe secular charities count as part of their regular tithing.
Explaining Why Tithing Is Important
If you want your members to give, you have to explain to them why it’s important. Simply saying “the Bible says so” isn’t enough. It’s also not enough to just pass a collection plate around or have a link on your church’s website saying “please give.”
Think of your church as a business. Before anyone buys something (in this case, buying would be tithing), they want to know why they should. While you don’t have to provide complete transparency, you need to explain not only the biblical reasons why giving is so important, but the financial reasons.
How much do your members know about how their donations are used? How much do they know about your church’s financial needs? Odds are, they don’t have a clue about either. They also probably don’t have any idea about how much is used for local and global community work.
Before you start sharing scriptures on giving, create an area on your website explaining the following:
- A breakdown of how church donations are allocated by percentage
- The costs of running the church, including your average power bill and average salaries (these can all be lumped together)
- The costs of marketing and outreach programs
- Charities and local organizations your church is affiliated with
- Cost of ministering outside of the church
- Percentage used to help with the local community
- Percentage used to aid in global endeavors
All of that might seem like it’s best left with your church’s accountant, this type of transparency makes it easier for your members to fully understand what type of financial needs your church has.
Along with posting this on your website, offer pamphlets to your members so they can look over the numbers, even if they don’t go online. This is especially important if your church doesn’t have a website yet.
While this is just a handful of scriptures on giving, it provides you with a start to share with your members. Of course, now that you have some examples of what to share, it’s time to figure out the best ways to share them before your next offering.
Sharing More About Giving
While you can add giving scriptures to your sermons, you’re not just limited to that time. In fact, it’s a good idea to share these scriptures throughout the week. Sharing outside of church helps keep thoughts about giving alive all week long.
While a member might not give on Sunday, they might see your shared scripture and choose to give online to your church on a Thursday instead. Remember, the idea is to increase tithing not just during church, but every single day.
Start by choosing a scripture to share for the week. It’s best to pick just one or two to avoid sounding greedy. You want to guide and inspire instead.
Once you have your scriptures, share them on your social media pages. Use them as the basis for a blog post. Send them out as a text. You could also have a daily scripture that you share in a newsletter, on your website or via social media.
If you do daily or weekly Bible studies online, through email or via text, add a scripture on giving once in a while. Sharing these regularly will help better explain the importance of giving to the church and all those in need. Once you’ve inspired regular giving in just one person, they’ll help inspire others as well.
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