November is Stewardship Month. How about a stewardship Q&A?

Q: How much does it cost to be a church?

       A: Nothing. Being a church costs nothing. It is free!

Let’s just stop right there. If being a church costs nothing, why do we have offerings?
Why do we ask people to pledge? Why should we tithe?

A church is a group of believers in Jesus. It doesn’t cost anything to be part of a group.
That is . . . unless . . . there are things the group of believers in Jesus want.
There are expenses involved if we want:
A place to meet.
Programs for children and youth.
Literature and teaching materials.
Music in worship.
A trained pastor and staff.
To support Christian ministries and outreach.
To help those in need.

Just look at our church budget. You will see each item related to how we can best be a
group of believers of Jesus in this world.

Beyond that, tithing and giving is a regular expression of our love and devotion to God.
How do we show our love to that special person in our lives? Spending time together,
doing things for that person, giving gifts. Do we love God? The scripture says, “we
love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19). This love was shown to us when Jesus
gave his life for us. “God so loved the world that he gave . . .” We might say, “we give,
because God first gave to us.”

When Jesus was asked by the rich man, “What must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus
responded, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

(see Mark 10:17-23). Jesus meant that God wants our whole life.
When we give our life to Jesus, it includes every part of us, our time, our talents, our
finances.

How much does it cost to be a church?

Everything.

Pastor Steve