Give in Abundance 

 

Welcome to Level 6 of levelling up your faith! Thank you and congratulations for your interest in levelling up your faith all the way to the top. Assuming you are actively living out all levels of faith in your life, this tops the cake, figuratively speaking. For some people, this level will be relatively easy to fulfil. For most however, it will be hard but we promise it will be rewarding. The truth is though, giving in abundance or giving generously, will cause your faith to mature so much faster and even more than any of the other five levels of faith. Don’t believe us? Well, we challenge you to try it!

Why is giving important? Well, the word of the Lord requires the talents and resources of His people. Each year, Fraser Coast Baptist Church develops a budget which supports its mission and ministries. This work can only be accomplished through the tithes and offerings of the congregation. In addition to providing the financial needs of the church, giving is a vital part of each believer’s spiritual development and maturity. This is because giving requires two things of each of us: faith and faithfulness.

Giving is an expression of our faith that affirms God as our provider and His ability to supply all that we need. We trust God by giving in faith. Our Lord promises to give every obedient Christian an overflowing, joyous life regardless of their financial position. Jesus told His followers, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.”

Faithful giving is not always easy and can come with everyday challenges (growing family needs, fixed income for retirees, loss of a job, an unexpected major expense, saving for retirement, etc.). Therefore, for a believer’s maturity in Christ to strengthen, faithfulness in giving is required. This means that you hold the proper intent for giving which is an act of worship to honour and glorify God and to show love for God. To truly trust God for your finances, you must keep your heart and motives pure; i.e. giving from your heart that is done willingly, generously and cheerfully. Giving also requires a faithfulness to budget within your means; to maintain careful use of credit cards, learning “how to afford” giving back to God. And finally, giving requires a faithfulness to continually ask God to supply your needs.

Giving is a part of our stewardship of the things that God has freely given to us and is a vital part of our spiritual development and maturity. In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to give a tithe, which is one tenth of their first fruits. Under the New Covenant, we have every gift of God’s provision including the gift of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus commands us to give freely from the heart (Matt 23:23) and to support God’s work by setting aside as you have prospered (1 Cor 16:2). In 2 Cor 8:8-9 and 9:6-8, Paul encourages joyful and generous giving, “not of commandment or necessity but out of genuine love.” So, as your faith in God and His love and trustworthiness grows, you will learn to give according to the principles noted above. We learn to take God at His word where he promises to supply from His unlimited resources. The encouragement for you is to give as God supplies.

Below are a number of ways you can give at Fraser Coast Baptist Church:

 

Service giving

Every Sunday, we have a time in the service where church attendees are provided an opportunity to give to the Lord. A prayer of commitment is made before the offering takes place, asking God to multiply what we give and use it for the extension of His kingdom and ultimately, His glory. Please place your cash in the offering bag each Sunday as it is passed during the offertory time.

 

Online giving

At the present time, we only have one option to give online and that is by a direct transfer from your bank account into the church account. This is available if, for instance, you miss a Sunday service and you would like to pay the same amount each week or you maybe someone who would like to not have to worry about getting cash out on a weekly basis. Therefore, an option for you would be to set up a recurring direct debit, which you can organise with your bank to automatically transfer funds into the church’s account every week, fortnight or month. This means that once you set it up, you don’t have to worry about it again. If you are interested in participating in this kind of convenient giving, the church account details are as follows:

Account name: Fraser Coast Baptist Church

BSB: 034 134

Account number: 390812

 

Text/Quick giving

If you are a church member who is interested in make use of giving via text message, then we may be able to help you out. We have access to a service that offers this way of giving; however, it does come with fees so payments can be processed. It also does require a credit card; therefore, if it is not your usual practice to pay your credit card balance in full each month, the church would prefer that you use a different giving approach.

 

Non-monetary gifts

In some cases, Fraser Coast Baptist Church can accept non-cash gifts when they are suitable for the church’s use. If you have something in mind to donate, feel free to speak with one of the deacons who could assist you in determining whether your donation would be suitable.