Q & A, final chapter
Q: There are many evidences of church leader dishonesty and fraud. How do I know giving in church is actually going to God's work? Is there accountability for every $ coming into church?
A: I totally understand the question. At Crossroads we have a system in place that we have confidence in--1. We always have more than one person take the offerings, count the cash, and put everything immediately in the safe. 2. We have 2 people who then take the money, record all the contributions and put them in the bank (these are long-standing members who have been doing this "forever"). 3. Only a handful of financial people can write checks (no pastors have access to church funds) and no pastors know what anyone gives. 4. Every dime given and every dime spent is recorded daily and month reports are made and available. 5. A yearly audit is performed to verify all the above. IF ANYONE WANTS TO SEE THESE THEY ARE AVAILABLE. We have nothing to hide and have never had anything questionable happen to us in this area.
Q: If a person is totally in debt and does not have a good income, can that person start with less than 10% and then work up to it?
A: Yes. It's called by some a "graduated tithe". You start with say 4% this year and bump it to 6% next year and keep bumping as you pay off debt and "get your financial house in order". We (as a church) did this at Crossroads when I first came. We weren't giving anything to missions due to many factors. I suggested we start somewhere and increase it yearly until we as a church were tithing to missions. God honored that decision and we were able to start paying all our bills and give to missions.
Q: Let's say I work for a church (like Crossroads). Do I have to tithe or can I just keep the money I make and call it even?
A: (maybe this is one of our staffers' question!) No. You tithe whatever you make wherever you work.
Q: Don't you count time spent (in lieu of working) in volunteer work at the church in your 10%?
A: No. Tithing/giving $ is separate from using your talents to serve in some ministry. There are no reductions in your tithe for volunteer hours given. Sorry.
A: I totally understand the question. At Crossroads we have a system in place that we have confidence in--1. We always have more than one person take the offerings, count the cash, and put everything immediately in the safe. 2. We have 2 people who then take the money, record all the contributions and put them in the bank (these are long-standing members who have been doing this "forever"). 3. Only a handful of financial people can write checks (no pastors have access to church funds) and no pastors know what anyone gives. 4. Every dime given and every dime spent is recorded daily and month reports are made and available. 5. A yearly audit is performed to verify all the above. IF ANYONE WANTS TO SEE THESE THEY ARE AVAILABLE. We have nothing to hide and have never had anything questionable happen to us in this area.
Q: If a person is totally in debt and does not have a good income, can that person start with less than 10% and then work up to it?
A: Yes. It's called by some a "graduated tithe". You start with say 4% this year and bump it to 6% next year and keep bumping as you pay off debt and "get your financial house in order". We (as a church) did this at Crossroads when I first came. We weren't giving anything to missions due to many factors. I suggested we start somewhere and increase it yearly until we as a church were tithing to missions. God honored that decision and we were able to start paying all our bills and give to missions.
Q: Let's say I work for a church (like Crossroads). Do I have to tithe or can I just keep the money I make and call it even?
A: (maybe this is one of our staffers' question!) No. You tithe whatever you make wherever you work.
Q: Don't you count time spent (in lieu of working) in volunteer work at the church in your 10%?
A: No. Tithing/giving $ is separate from using your talents to serve in some ministry. There are no reductions in your tithe for volunteer hours given. Sorry.
posted by Pastor Phil Print at 7:31 AM
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