Throughout December, our mailbox seemed to be stuffed each day with Christmas cards and requests for money. Amanda and I enjoy personal Christmas cards and letters. After reading them, Amanda displays them around the living room with other decorations to remind us of the friendships we share with church family, across the country, and around the globe.
The request letters are a different story. With each one we have a choice to make. We can discard those letters as junk mail, or we can consider the request, and decide whether that particular organization is going to make the cut in this year’s holiday giving.
Most non-profit organizations, including churches, have struggled to balance their budgets in the past few years. In this season when we are gradually emerging from a recession, all kinds of non-profits are in a heated competition for charitable dollars. Therefore, this year you might expect more appeals vying for your holiday or end-of-year giving.
Many businesses and foundations have pre-determined guidelines for selecting the charitable causes to which they will make contributions. At our house, we are also developing a list of criteria which helps us to filter through the requests and determine which charities, missions, and ministries we will support this year.
Our most important end-of-year gift goes to the mission offering of our church. Throughout the year, our tithe, a tenth of all we earn, goes to the ministries of our church. Primarily, this is an act of obedience to what we believe the Bible teaches, but we also believe that the cumulative projects of a local church make the most significant impact advancing the cause of Christ. In December we give an additional gift to our Christmas Missions Offering that supports missionaries around the globe.
Amanda and I are blessed to be able to contribute to other causes, most of them affiliated with First Baptist Church. (For more of our criteria, read the article “Generous Discernment” at www.bayhillrev.blogspot.com).
We have also learned not to give directly to persons on the street, at intersections, or interstate ramps. Our experience is that people are most effectively helped through missional organizations such as Samaritan Hands. (However, we do offer to help persons on the street to get to the right place for assistance, or we offer to buy them a meal, but we do not give money, simply because of the high rate of manipulation and addiction among full-time panhandlers.)
As we grow and learn more effective stewardship practices, we realize that we are not liable for supporting every worthy cause we encounter. However, we are accountable to God for the resources placed within our care. Years ago Elbert Hubbard wrote, “To know when to be generous, and when to be firm --this is wisdom.” As you designate your end-of-year giving, be generous and be discerning.
On behalf of our church family, thank you for your strong financial support of the missions and ministries of First Baptist Church during 2010. Remember that the IRS requires that all contributions for this fiscal year must be received or postmarked by December 31.
Join us this Sunday as we begin a New Year and launch our new series, “Living by the Book.”
Schedule for this Sunday
9:00 Bible Study
10:30 Worship in the Sanctuary