Should Christians Donate to Charity or To The Local Church?
So a couple weeks ago we looked at the question of, “How Much Should Christians Give?”.
Part One set the stage and Part Two really delved into why we want to know how much to give and why the New Testament is eerily silent on the topic of tithing and percentages to give.
Today we want to address the issue of WHO. Who should we give to – or as my Grammar Nazi’s would correctly state - To Whom Should Christians Give?
Should Christians donate to charity or give to their local church first?
Interesting Question
Last week I received this question from a reader:
Is it better to give to a Christian organization that does good work, or does it matter if it’s a secular organization that does good work?
The work, in either case, is done for the good of people which God desires, but one promotes God’s name, the other doesn’t. How would that factor in to the believer’s decisions? Does it matter?
This is a great question! Should we donate to charity – good organizations doing good things – or only “Christian” organizations.
I think this raises the bigger question of who should a Christian give to?
So what I’d like to do today is give my opinion and then I really want to hear from other readers on this issue!
My Two Cents
I think we should first and foremost give to organizations that we are receiving the most blessing from – that is usually (or at least should be) the local church you belong to.
Think about it: the church has a lot of expenses to operate from week to week.
They are providing a place to (hopefully) hear the Word of God preached, a place of comfort for those who are in a tough spot and a place of community.
They provide avenues for ministries, which takes money to make that happen.
Unfortunately in today’s Christian consumerist culture we hop around, looking for something to make us feel good with no ties and certainly no obligations to give.
I’m sure the early church had problems with giving too, but I read some of the stories in Acts that demonstrate people’s willingness to give generously to the body of Christ as it had need.
The church should take the directive with that.
The church does have a responsibility for good stewardship just like individuals have, so going to the leaders and finding out what they do with the money is an important thing.
As far as giving to Christian organizations or non-Christian ones, we should probably have a priority to Christian ones that meet needs, share Christ and practice good stewardship.
I don’t think it’s wrong to give to your local American Red Cross or other non-Christian organizations – I do think that we need to have a priority list.
At the end of the day we need to realize that our greatest demonstration of our faith comes in seeking the common good of our cities and communities.
I think giving our time, energy and resources to promoting that is a good witness.
Your Two Cents
It’s your turn! What do you think?
Should Christians only give to their local church?
Should Christians donate to charity or “non-Christian” organizations?
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t see any reason why a person *should* ONLY give to a single organization, whether that’s their church or otherwise. Of course it can be more effective to do so…
I think that if you find a charitable institution that does something you value in an efficient and effective manner you should donate to them. It should not matter whether they are Christian, secular, or whatever. It is the quality of the deed that matters, not who performs it.
Jason,
Thought provoking post. I actually wrote about this as well in a past article. I agree that we need to give to our church home first. Those are the people who are feeding us the truth. We need to do everything we can to support them for our own spiritual growth, but for that of others and for those who do not know Christ. Then, I believe in giving to Christian ministries. Not to say you can’t give to a secular ministry, but I want to give towards the spreading of God’s word and the equipping of people to perform the Lord’s work (as does Crown Financial Ministries). Finally, as I said, I think it’s still fine to give to a secular organization, but personally, this would be the last area of giving for me. Thanks for raising this up for discussion. And as an aside, I read your posts everyday through my reader. I don’t comment as much here as I should, but please know that I enjoy and learn from your great work here.
Give locally! So important to give to organizations that do great work in your neighborhood or nearby city. Especially those that spend a lot more money on helping people and a lot less on administrative costs.
I believe in giving first and foremost to your church. However, in my case, we don’t have access to a really good church in the area where we live, so we attend the best one we can. The pastor doesn’t preach from the Bible (expositorily), but instead uses a couple of verses as a springboard into his three or four point sermon. We are not fed at this church and it’s the best of the lot. We give a portion to this church, but most of our tithe goes to ministries that my wife and I support.
From what I’ve learned from Crown, we should give our tithe to our local church first. Anything above that we can give to ministries like crown, or feed the children, which are two ministries I like personally.
I think we should give to missionaries. Specifically, those in the South Pacific.
When I started giving I gave here, there, and everywhere. Then I started giving to the local church becuase I had entrusted myself spiritually to those leaders.
Now I’m in a missionary setting and I don’t give most of my money to the local church becuase of a huge income gap. Honestly, I think too much money can be detrimental – even to a church.
You delved into this in a recent post, but I’m still curious about the definition of “tithing”. It was discussed that part of tithing could be considered taxes paid, but I’m wondering just what else can be considered part of tithing. Does it go beyond your church to any legal charitable organization, a missonary, or even just giving to your neighbor who is in need? What about different types of charities (some more secular than others)?
Coach – the original definition of “tithe” is tenth. That’s what the Hebrew word means. I think we often get too hung up on the word tithe – perhaps just referring to it as giving is more appropriate. When we talk about giving then we can discuss where we give – church, ministries, local organizations, missionaries, neighbors in need etc.
Personally, I think that our attitudes should be one where we are always looking for opportunities to bless others and help those in need. I also think we should have a plan and purpose to what we give so that we don’t just push it to the side either.
Coming in late here, but need to weigh in…
I think we’re missing the boat in talking about giving to The Church. In Christianity, WE are the Church! So we should be giving to the Church first and foremost. The Church doesn’t survive without our contributions as there won’t be any help coming from non-Chrisitians. In theory, non-faith charities don’t need our help; they’re better off with it, but they won’t collapse without it either.
As to secular charities, no problem giving there–after you’ve given to the Church–but I think that as believers, we probably first need to seek out people around us who may be in need. By giving to them, we give directly and eliminate the middle men (charitable organizations) and have an opportunity to give in the name of Jesus Christ, even to those who don’t believe in him.
And what a witnessing opportunity to boot!
This has been on my mind as of late. I don’t have a problem with giving, but lately I have been thinking that rather than supporting some salaries and mortgage payments on a church that simply maintains its current members, give the money to those in need, use unpaid lay-pastors that rotate weekly, and rent an inexpensive meeting place at a school or other building. Providing food and other support, coupled with the Good News can go a long way! And then we have invested in unsaved people rather than an institution. The resulting church is member and community focused rather that pastor or institution focused. Just my 2cents.
Thanks for posting. I just stumbled upon this blog randomly, but I’ll give my opinion.
From my personal studies, I believe that the Bible repeatedly suggests that we give to the poor, needy, widows, orphans, etcetera. I never once have read that the pastor should receive our money. In fact, a pastor is only mentioned once in the Bible, as an aside. We are also told not to give under compulsion, but with a joyful spirit, which is contrary to the tithing message of most churches. I also agree with the comment from “Concerned”, that it would be nearly fruitless to pay the salary of all these hierarchical career-Christians, pay for the building, and all the other costs of running a traditional church, when the Church of the New Testament was structured in a completely different way. And after reading the book of Acts, and the other epistles, it sounds to me like they never gave their money to a structured institution, but instead directly gave it to the poor, to each other, and sometimes to the apostles (not as a salary, but so the apostles could distribute it).
Tis my opinion. Some references:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%202&version=NIV
http://bobthebaptist.blogspot.com/2011/07/just-call-me-pastor.html
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/TheTitheisIllegal.html
Be blessed and continue your search for Truth!