Is the staff at your church tithing? Is the rest of your congregation tithing? And is that something you should even be worried about?!
Many church leaders would love to get an answer to those questions, especially given that most churches struggle to meet their budget.
Before we get to that conversation, though, it’s important to examine what a tithe is (it seems no one is sure) and what the state of church giving is like now.
What Is a Tithe? (Let’s Share This Definition)
Historically, tithing means giving 10% of your income to the church.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines tithing as “A tenth of annual produce or earnings, taken as a tax (originally in-kind) for the support of the church.” In other words, it’s one-tenth of what you made that year given to the church.
As simple as that definition is, though, it’s not widely agreed upon or even understood by many Christians.
A recent Barna survey shows that 42% of practicing Christians claim that they tithe 10% to their church.
But in the same study, 59% of Christians said they were unclear about what the term ‘tithe’ means.
So the question becomes, what’s really going on?
The Math Doesn’t Lie: Most Church-Going Christians Don’t Tithe.
Not surprisingly, given the above data, in many circles, tithing has become synonymous with giving. In other words, if you give, you tithe. And yet, that’s not what the term means at all.
The confusion makes sense when you consider that many church-giving statistics and studies show that only 5-10% of churchgoers actually give 10% to their local church.
The lower figure of 5-10% resonates because most churches struggle to make ends meet, and doing some quick, back-of-the-napkin math can prove this.
For example, consider a church with 100 attenders and 200 people who call that church home. Let’s imagine that there are 100 donors in the church (eliminating children and spouses as individual donors).
The average US household income is $77,500, which means, that a tithe would be about $7,750.
Quick math would show that if every household tithed, that church would have a budget of $775,000.
Very few churches with 100 attenders have a budget that size (it’s usually $200,000-$250,000), and even then, in most churches, a handful of generous donors often give disproportionate amounts.
This analysis lines up with a 2021 Church Salary analysis that showed the average church offering per person and found that the yearly range was somewhere between $1,144 and $3,432, which averaged out to $2,262. In 2022, that number rose to $2,848.
Bottom line? Most people aren’t tithing. So how do you change that?
How Do You Get Your Church to Start Tithing? Start Here.
It’s easy to think that the best way to get more is to encourage people to give more.
That’s not the best place to start.
Instead, talk about what you want FOR people financially before you talk about what you want FROM people financially.
A good portion of the population struggles with money, carries too much debt, and has a fear of not being able to pay the bills if they give more away.
That’s not news to you, and it’s probably one of the reasons you don’t like to talk about it and hate fundraising for your church.
Here’s what that can look like.
As a Lead Pastor, my team and I started casting a vision for people to pay cash for their next vacation, to save for their children’s education, to save for retirement, to create an emergency fund, and to live generously.
And then we taught people how to carry that out by driving a car, not a car payment, how to buy less house than they’re qualified for to create margin, how to talk about money with a spouse (without turning it into an argument), and more.
In other words, we helped them win with money by developing an off-Sunday program that over 1,300 people have taken. The vision? To help them live with margin and live on mission.
People are living very different lives because we helped them get a hold of their finances.
If you make what you want FOR people the core of your message when you’re talking about money at your church, talking about what you want from people becomes much easier and so much more natural.
Here’s the bottom line: Focusing on what you want for people rather than what you ask from them isn’t greedy at all. You’re actually helping them. Focusing on what you want for people rather than what you ask from them isn’t greedy at all. You’re actually helping them. Share on X
I sincerely believe that people want to be generous, but they just can’t figure out how to. When you help people get their finances in order, you’re also helping them unleash their generosity.
Why It’s Important to Talk About Giving and Tithing At Your Church.
You can preach from the front all you want or pray all you want, but traction often happens when you start having conversations with your top leaders and staff members. And yes, sometimes those are awkward conversations.
Believe it or not, it starts with a series of awkward conversations with yourself, your team, and ultimately your church.
There are (at least) two compelling reasons to start having these conversations at your church.
1. Money is a Spiritual Issue
Money is a spiritual issue because money is a trust issue. Money is a spiritual issue because money is a trust issue. Share on X
If you don’t think money is a trust issue, just see how comfortable you are giving someone your bank card and PIN number. Exactly. You would never do that. And that’s because at the heart of money is trust.
If it’s a trust issue, it’s also a faith issue. Jesus talked about money more than he talked about sex. He knew it was critical to our spiritual development.
Because money is such a private issue in our culture and is tied to shame, it’s really hard to talk about it as a team. But it’s important to dive in and discuss it anyway.
2. Your Congregation Will Never Be More Generous Than You Are
The second reason it’s worth having awkward conversations with your board and staff is simple: Your congregation will rarely be more generous than your Leadership Team. You yourself have to live out what you expect from your donors. Your congregation will rarely be more generous than your Leadership Team. Share on X
As a matter of integrity, you can’t expect other people to be sacrificial and generous if you’re not.
Note, as a former senior pastor myself, this started with me. And it starts with your senior leader, but the entire team should live out what you expect from others when it comes to generosity.
If you haven’t embraced it, eventually, your donors will sniff out the hypocrisy in asking them to embrace a way of living and giving that you don’t live out.
And sure, some people in your church will be able to give much bigger gifts than you might be able to give as church staff, (after all, they likely make more money), but as I learned, and as your people will learn: It’s not the size of the gift that counts; it’s the size of the sacrifice. It’s not the size of the gift that counts; it’s the size of the sacrifice. Share on X
So here’s the reality.
Your congregation will never become more generous than you are as a leader. If you practice what you preach, you’ll see God provide in spectacular ways for your family and for your church.
Now, I realize most of you are thinking, “Well, he doesn’t understand my situation.” So, let’s discuss three reasonable objections to church staff tithing.
Prepare for The Three Objections You’ll Hear
Objection 1: We’re Not Particularly Well-Paid
Having led a ministry for 25 years, I can promise that one of the objections that’ll be raised is, “Well, Carey, we’re church staff. We’re not particularly well-paid. And not all of us have spouses who make good money. How can you talk about tithing when we’re barely getting by?”
First, here’s some research shows that the least well-off people in America give generously, often more so than their rich counterparts.
Studies show that those who give, even on lower incomes, report higher levels of financial well-being and overall life satisfaction. There is something powerful that happens when we put God first with our finances.
Personally, I decided to tithe when I was a student and my wife and I were first married. I’ve also kept that commitment while in ministry. At times, we were scrounging through our coin jar to buy groceries, but it taught my wife and me so much about how to live for God and others, not just ourselves.
Objection 2: Should Tithing Even Be the Standard? Tithing is An Old Testament Concept.
A big debate among church staff is whether tithing is even a New Testament standard.
Here’s how I handle it. I tell people they’re right, the New Testament doesn’t mention giving 10%, which can seem legalistic.
Studying money in the New Testament, it’s a different ethic. Jesus urged the rich young ruler to sell all and follow him. Early Christians sold properties, bringing all proceeds to the apostles. They shared everything and considered nothing theirs alone.
Paul encourages Christians to give radically and sacrificially.
Looking at the New Testament, the standard of giving appears to be higher, going beyond 10% into radical, sacrificial, life-altering generosity.
The question then is, what does this generosity look like for Christians today? Many of us, living in the most prosperous culture in history, live like royalty compared to people in past times and have much more than first-century Christians. For people in the most affluent and prosperous culture in history, what does radical generosity look like? For people in the most affluent and prosperous culture in history, what does radical generosity look like? Share on X
At this point, most happily revert to the Old Testament’s “10% is enough. We’ll stick with that.”
If you really want to be a biblical stickler, we’re called to radical generosity. 10% is a fine starting point. It’s not a finish line.
Objection 3: “I Give With My Time and Talent”
Another objection staff and key volunteers can sometimes have to tithing is that they already give sacrificially with their time and talent. After all, most of you work more hours than you’re paid, and often, you could have found jobs in the marketplace that paid better.
So isn’t working in ministry your sacrifice?
Well, good points, but then there’s scripture. It’s hard to flip through more than a few pages of scripture without running into the topic of money, and it’s difficult to read a single book of the New Testament without reading about sacrificial giving.
The book of Acts, Corinthians, and many others talk about the gift of financial giving, and everyone seems to have participated.
My Experience with Tithing and Giving Generously
I don’t know where you are financially, but I’d love to give you three things to consider as you think about your own next steps, and how you’ll have these conversations with your church.
To start, tithing has been the best antidote to greed in my life. Nobody likes to think of themselves as greedy, in the same way that no one likes to think of themselves as selfish, but the reality is, if you’re not giving generously, then 99.9% of your income is devoted to you.
If I’m honest, the challenge I’ve had as my income has increased over the years, is that my desires have also increased. I’ve found the best way to keep my greed in check is to tithe, and since 2010, go over and above that on a regular basis.
Most of my spending would leave zero impact after I die anyway. But money invested in the Kingdom, in the local church, and in others has the potential to make an eternal impact.
The second thing to consider, and I think this is why giving is so central in scripture, is that it’s so tangible. You know whether you’ve given or not. Love? Yes, that’s cardinal. But how do you measure love? Goodness? Kindness? They’re tough to truly measure.
Giving is binary. It happened, or it didn’t. It’s 10% or not. It’s a tangible form of discipleship, and I find that if you give meaningfully and sacrificially, it’s a constant stretching point and growth area.
Finally, and this is perhaps the best reason: Giving opens up room for God to move. Giving opens up room for God to move. Share on X
It’s not that God doesn’t move regardless of what we do financially; giving doesn’t save us. But you’ve heard story after story from generous people who tell you that when they opened up their finances to God, God provided.
My wife and I have seen it again and again. When our kids were young, we gave what for us was a very large amount of money to a capital campaign, in addition to our regular tithe, and we thought, “Well, there goes our savings for our kids’ college.” We gave it, but miraculously, God provided. We were able to keep saving and help pay for our kids’ college education. As the scriptures promise, we lacked nothing.
I can’t predict it, but all I’ve experienced is when you move, God moves.
So that’s my question. I don’t know where you are in your giving, but will you give God some room to move? Are you willing to enter into a financial faith journey with God that will allow him to show you his faithfulness?
How to Start Conversations Around Giving and Tithing at Your Church
So, let’s get practical. What are your next steps? I have three suggestions.
1. Break the Silence At Your Church.
It will be awkward to have a team conversation around this because money is such a trust issue in our culture. You can discuss the principles outlined in this article as a team without getting into specifics.
And I’d encourage you to take it a step further and open up to someone you trust to talk about generosity. Someone who can help and inspire you. Someone you can talk to about priorities. Community is essential in the Christian faith, and that’s true of finances too.
If you’re looking for a proven plan to teach tithing, increase giving, and create a culture of generosity at your church, check out the Art of Building a Generous Congregation course. It’s filled with practical resources like a done-for-you sermon series, email templates, donor appreciation event plans, and more.
2. Take Your Next Step Personally.
Some people have gone from not giving to 10% in one step. That’s more than possible. And I don’t want to step on toes here because I don’t know the theology of your church, but another approach might be to increase the percentage over a period of years to get to 10%. Perhaps start at 2% and then move to 5%, then 7.5%, and finally 10%. The point is to make progress.
3. Get Help.
Finally, I realize that as much as God provides, it means that you’ll be living off less. And groceries, rent, housing, transportation, and life is expensive. I get it. There are all kinds of apps and budgeting programs that will help you. Dave Ramsey, Ramit Sethi, and I Was Broke Now I’m Not are incredible coaches, and you can learn a lot online for free.
Perhaps you’ll discover like so many other Christians have, that you really can’t outgive God.
Imagine the people of God being the most generous people in your city, your nation, and the world. Imagine unchurched people being blown away by the generosity of the team.
That starts with you. And it starts with me. It’s time to engage your church to do the same.
