10 Again campaign points to tithing

By Susan Mires

Contributing Writer

JEFFERSON CITY—The spiraling economy has caught believers and churches in its undertow.

About one in five households have reduced the amount they give to churches, research by the Barna Group has found.

The situation concerns leaders of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), because they know a decline in giving reflects a deeper problem.

“It’s a matter of the heart. A lot of people are living beyond their means,” said Spencer Hutson, specialist in biblical stewardship for the MBC.

The average Christian gives 2.4 percent of their income as offerings.

“It’s going to be a course we’ll have to address as a people of faith and followers of Christ,” said Jesse Cass, pastor at Jamesport Baptist Church and convener of the MBC Executive Board stewardship group.

Cass said he is burdened to make sure believers understand the cost of indebtedness, as well as take God at his word about tithing.

“Tithing is an end result of being a good steward of what God has given us,” he said.

To help churches inspire their members, the convention created “10 Again.” Introduced at the annual meeting in October, the campaign encourages giving a 10 percent tithe to the church.

In addition, churches are encouraged to use the 10 Again campaign along with money management courses, Hutson said, because some people are too far in debt to feel like they can give 10 percent.

“Debt can be a real burden,” he said. “If we could help people be better stewards, they would free themselves up to do what they’d like to do and know they should do.”

Believers are encouraged to capture a vision of what a 10 Again tithe could do to reach the world. If members increased their giving from 2.5 percent to 10 percent, a typical Missouri Baptist church budget would swell from $100,000 per year to $400,000. Imagine what they could do for the kingdom, Hutson said.

“We could do a lot more if people would go back to 10 Again,” he said. It would also involve more in the work of their church. “There are a lot of people along for the ride. They’re spectators, not really participants.”

The challenge is not just for members; churches are also being urged to give 10 percent to the Cooperative Program.

“We’ve got some churches that give much more and others that aren’t giving anything,” Hutson said.

If every church gave 10 percent, the convention’s annual budget would increase from $16 million to $84 million.

“The challenge is to get folks to give 10 percent,” Hutson said. “The church can set an example and give 10 percent to the Cooperative Program and do special things on top of that.”

Besides 10 Again, the convention has non-dated materials for a three-week emphasis on Biblical stewardship. The latest study is based on Haggai and is called “Consider Your Ways.”

Asking members and churches to give more during a recession may be a difficult task, but leaders believe it is also essential. Cass noted that in II Corinthians 9, the Bible says God loves a cheerful giver and is able to make grace abound.

“We need to be prayerfully seeking that we can have that result in a time of a downward turn of the economy,” he said. “It will be a challenge but it is something that can be handled because Christ does care for us.”