GIVING IN COMMUNITY

What is Giving in Community?
Giving in Community is about what we do with everything God has given us: our lives, our time, our resources—everything.

When do we do this?
What we do for God and with God’s resources is an everyday thing, not just a Sunday morning thing. To help us focus and prioritize, we have special emphasis at Saint John’s during the year.

Take January for example: Our culture encourages us to begin the New Year thinking about “New Year’s Resolutions.”  Get in shape, lose weight, stop smoking, and many other worthy changes that promote health and well-being. Christians place at the top of that list those things that will promote spiritual health and well-being. This always includes personal growth in our faith walk as well as what we do for Christ in and through Christ’s church, or, as Methodist Founder John Wesley put it, “Faith working through love.”

What do we do first?
Jesus calls us to follow him. We won’t get in shape “thinking about” jogging. Nor will we grow in discipleship until we make a decision to follow Christ. Faith is a verb.

What does discipleship involve?
A good place to begin is with the four basic vows of church membership: prayers, presence, gifts and service.

1. WE PRAY. We make a decision about prayer: learning it, practicing it, sharing it with others, and making it a central aspect of our daily life.
2. WE SHOW UP. We make a decision about presence: attending worship regularly and participating in a small group devoted to spiritual growth and practice.
3. WE PRACTICE EXTRAVAGANT GENEROSITY. We make a decision about giving: committing ourselves to systematic, regular, proportional financial gifts to Christ’s ministries through our church. The basic standard for our giving is the Biblical tithe (10 percent of our income) or a commitment to step up toward tithing until we become tithers. We live here, we give here.
4. WE PRACTICE THE MINISTRY OF ALL. We make a decision to serve in at least one ministry in the church and one mission in the world.

Why is this important?
Because these practices lead to spiritual growth. They are, as Jesus taught, about our relationship to God and God’s creation. They all have a central part to play it what it means to follow Jesus Christ.

If you want to discuss any of this, feel free to contact one of the pastors or lay leaders.