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Give on Sunday

Each Sunday, we have a collection plate near the rear doors of the nave. If you prefer to give in person, please drop your check or cash in the plate on your way out and it will be counted, recorded, and deposited that week.

Church of the Ascension is a recognized 501(c)(3), and all gifts are tax deductible.

Why give to Ascension?

Giving is love for others.

How we use our money reveals where our heart is (Matthew 6:21)—in other words, it reveals what we love. At the center of the Christian community is the agape-love of Jesus, a love that gives freely to others, counting others more important than oneself. Just as Jesus gave all things by living and dying for his people, we are called to love others by giving our lives away for their good—our time, our resources, our talents. When we give to our church, we provide for those who have given their lives to the spiritual care of God’s people and enable the church community to care for financial needs both within the church body and in the community that the Church is called to love and serve. In other words, generously giving our time and resources to the church is a central way that we love other people.

Giving is an act of worship.

Everything that we have, we have received from God. God is the first and constant Giver. So when we come to worship God, we come to worship the One who has given us all things. This is why gratitude and thanksgiving are constant throughout our songs and prayers. Our generosity happens in this context. It is always a “giving-back” to the One who has given first, a response of love and trust to God. This is why every Sunday we recite some of these words from King David: “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you” (1 Chronicles 29:14). When we give some of our financial resources back to God to be used in and by his Church, we are recognizing that it is by God’s grace that we are able to provide for the needs of other as well as ourselves.

Giving is for everyone, rich and poor.

Giving is not just for the rich because giving is not about the amount; it is about the heart. Paul says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Jesus celebrated the generosity of a bereft widow, who though she had almost nothing still gave 2 copper coins (Luke 21:1–4). Though the large gifts of the rich might seem to be of more worth, this is the way the world thinks—an economy of scarcity. God’s economy is an economy of abundance, of overflowing plenitude, and of constant provision. God does not keep a spreadsheet that must end up in the black; God creates from nothing and works all things out for the good of his people. What God rejoices in is when his people trust him to provide for them and move forward in love for other people. Rich and poor, no matter what we are able to give, more important than any amount is simply that we practice this trust and love by giving generously and with faith.

Giving is good for our hearts.

Finally, giving financially is simply good for our hearts. Or… it can be. It is possible to give financially and then pat yourself on the back. But this is not what Jesus meant when he said that it was more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). He meant that giving, when it is done out of love for our neighbor and trust in God, fulfills the image of God in us more than simply receiving gifts from God or from others. We are not meant to store up all that God gives us for ourselves (Luke 12:13–21). We are meant to be conduits for God’s grace. We receive from God; we give to others. We are the messengers of God’s love, the agents of God’s care, the administrators of God’s beneficence. When we give, we are filled with the love that is God (1 John 4:8, 16). When we care for others, we live into our identity as Christ’s body, who gave himself for the sake of all humanity.

Frequently Asked Questions about Giving

How much should I give?

Christian giving is a matter of the heart, and our goal is to be free from the love of money and to be generous towards others as God has been generous towards us in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 8:9). We are called to honor the Lord and love others by our generosity, not check off a box on a spiritual checklist. Therefore, the amount that each Christian should give is a matter of faith, prayer, and personal conscience. There is no specific number or percentage given in the New Testament to guide our giving. Instead, we are called to be generous and to give according to what we have (2 Corinthians 8:10–15). Certainly, there can be different financial seasons in our lives, but throughout them we can be persistent in prayer and planning so that we can support the work of the Church while being faithful to our other financial obligations.

What’s the deal with tithing?

In the Old Testament, the principle of the tithe (10%) was established so that the majority of the community gave to support the work of the ministry of the temple and for the needs of the poor. But when we give as Christians, we are not fulfilling the law of the Old Covenant but the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)—to love one another and bear each other’s burdens. The New Testament doesn’t give us a number but a personal charge—to give for the sake of others, even sacrificially beyond the lowest expectation (2 Corinthians 8:3). Therefore, while the tithe has functioned from the earliest days of the Church as a guideline for what the minimum level of giving might look like, the goal is not to meet a number but to meet the requirements of love as God has enabled each of us to do.

Should I give all of my tithe and / or offering to Church of the Ascension?

That depends! Giving is personal act of worship to God and love for other people. There are many good causes to give to, probably including people in your own life who are in need. However, if Church of the Ascension is your church home, consider allocating a significant portion of your giving to the community to whom you belong, where you invest most of your time, and where others are investing in you. Those who have given their life to pastoral ministry have done so for your sake and the sake of the community around us, and they rely on your generosity to put food on their table (1 Corinthians 9:6–14).

How does Church of the Ascension meet our vision through giving?

Our vision is to be a community of worshippers in Carolina Forest that embodies the rich sacramental and communal life of Christ’s body through the Anglican tradition of prayer and worship as a blessing and invitation to our neighbors. This takes time, space, and resources, all of which require money. As a mission church, much of our budget is currently funded through the generosity of other churches, but this period will not last long. Soon, 100% of our budget will rely on the weekly giving of our members and regular attenders. Your giving counts, right now. It might be tempting to think that your individual contributions do not make a difference to the work that is being done. However, every gift adds up to the mutual effort of advancing Christ’s vision for in Carolina Forest through Ascension.