IDEAS FOR THE OFFERING
Many churches have people speak while collecting offerings.
Here ARE some ideas for what YOU might say or not say:
Consider Not Saying Much. For many churches, the offering/contribution time has become a stale institution. Unfortunately, it can be treated as filler time, where a few trite and sometimes inaccurate things are said. Hearing preaching and teaching about money and wealth is very important to our faith, but it might be better handled in a longer format where more attention is given to quality. Sometimes it’s best to just give practical instructions and say a brief prayer.
Be Accurate. Be sure to accurately represent how the money collected will be used. Don’t say the money will be used for the poor and needy in your city if the money will go into the church’s general fund. Many churches don’t automatically contribute to the poor. Even if some do, they often give a very small amount and the gifts are limited in scope (i.e. church benevolence).
Be Biblically Accurate. Don’t talk about a tithe, if your church doesn’t teach tithing. Also be careful not to promote unbiblical prosperity gospel theology. Think twice about saying things like: “You can’t out give God.” While true in a general sense, ask yourself what you are really telling the audience. There is room for talking about God providing in the context of giving, but recognize that the promised rewards were largely spiritual in nature. (2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:6-15, 1 Timothy 6:3-5).
Don’t Guilt People Into Giving. Guilt is not a healthy or sustainable motivation for giving offerings. Many are sick of hearing how blessed they are to live in the first world and that they ought to share. Many Christians aren’t feeling blessed and aren’t doing well financially. Christians need to feel great about giving and it should come from a genuine desire (2 Corinthians 9:7). Sometimes speakers don’t know what to say during an offering and will default to talking about how we should share because we have it so good in the first world. There’s a disconnect with such an approach. The money is typically not used for the poor and needy. It is largely used to pay a first-world church employees, facilities, and programs.
Present Solid, Biblical Reasons for Giving Offerings. Offerings are part of our relationship with God. We have a responsibility to support the church. We follow Christ’s example of giving to help a lost world. In the context of giving to the poor, Jesus expects us to do so and it helps our hearts. Our generosity in faith today will be rewarded in heaven. We shouldn’t give offerings out of guilt, obligation, greed or routine, but rather out of love, faith, kindness and respect for God.
Specific Teaching about Money and Wealth. You don’t need entire sermons or parts of sermons to have in-depth teaching about money and wealth (although that is important from time to time). Perhaps once a month, an elder or someone respected could teach for 15 minutes about money and wealth. It could be part of series with variety. Even 5 minutes of focused teaching is much better than trite 1 minute soundbites. Presentations during the offering could be replaced with less frequent, but more in-depth teaching. Come up with a format that fits your congregation.
Be Creative With It. As with any part of a church service, be creative with teachings on money and wealth. You could have members share about their personal experiences or convictions in that area. You could even present something artistic like a song, poem, graphic or video.
Create a Virtuous Cycle. If Christians feel like the church is there to help them do well financially and spiritually, they will be generous and feel great about giving. The Bible guides us to a true Christian lifestyle, which includes honoring God, working hard, spending modestly, investing wisely, and giving generously. If a church serves its members by teaching these things and its leaders model them, it will lead to sustainable, long-term growth.