Giving

- Matthew 6:21 -

Visit our Online Giving webpage to give a one-time gift or set up a recurring donation.

Cash or a check can be placed in the offering boxes on the walls as you exit the sanctuary.

Checks can be mailed to the church office or dropped off in person at 9950 W. Ustick Rd. 

Giving cannot be separated from worship. If we boil worship down to its simplest form we can say that worship is the act of treasuring God as valuable in our heart. The outer forms of worship are nothing more than the expressions of that heart that treasures God. That is why the Bible is so insistent that all of life is worship. We want our love for Christ to flow out into every area of life, including our finances. We invest in things that are valuable to us. That is why God is not honored in our giving unless we value Him! The degree to which we value Christ is the degree to which our giving gives him glory. No value, no good! God wants us to give willingly, because we see Christ as valuable.

For us, we have chosen to not pass an offering plate as this might create pressure for some to give. Offering boxes are in the back for those who want to give. We want giving to be premeditated, discussed and a deliberate part of one’s relationship with Jesus.  We don’t want to make giving the main thing you see on our web page or the main thing we talk about or the main thing we track or the main thing we think about. Why? Because where your treasure is there will your heart be also. That being fully affirmed, money is a tool just like time or talent or physical assets. We need money to do ministry and God wants us to give generously, consistently and sacrificially (ie. it hurts a bit).

Stewardship starts with the idea that nothing we have is our own and everything we have can be used for God. Almost anything can be a ministry tool – chairs, facilities, technology, food, park rental, cars, camps, etc. As a church we try to run lean and efficient while still meeting the needs of people in our body. We try to avoid monthly fees when possible and be smart. We try our best to be financially conservative in how we approach money but never want to stockpile or avoid risk entirely. Practically, this means that we always hold back 3 months of operating budget. We also try to save a year’s worth of a new pastor’s income before hiring, and we pay very close attention to giving and debt ratios. Please pray that God gives us wisdom and protects us from unwise choices!

Every business exists to make money. The church, however, exists to worship Jesus Christ. And because it has such a fundamentally different purpose it ought to have a fundamentally differently feel. We aren’t here to sell you things. We are here to tell you about Jesus Christ who wants to give you things (his gospel, his grace, his mercy). Because of this desire to make Jesus central, we tend to avoid fundraisers, garage sales, and marketing.

Jesus says in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The Benevolence fund is a special fund that we collect once a month for people in our body who are in need. We really do want to help. If you call FCBC your home and you need financial help, please ask!

Once a year we have an annual report which spells out giving/spending for the current year and our next year’s anticipated budget. We have a robust system of checks and balances where check writers cannot also be check signers, money counting must be done in pairs, and deposits are verified. All receipts are seen by multiple eyes and all budget decisions are made by teams of qualified men and women. We welcome inquiry and encourage it!

We make this a significant part of our budget. Eleven percent (11%) of our general giving goes toward supporting world missions. We believe we ought to sacrifice for other ministries in the same way that others sacrifice to support the ministry of FCBC.