Editor's note: Among the pastors and believers of grassroots churches in China today, tithing seems to be a somewhat complex but very important topic. Many grassroots churches have been suffering from the lack of giving all year round, making it difficult for them to carry out their ministries. And the enthusiasm of some believers for tithing gradually fades because of “giving much but seeing no evident difference”.
But one pastor seemed to manage to strike a perfect balance. In his church, more than 90% of believers adhere to tithe, and the donations are under open supervision to better promote the development of the church. He then encourages the members to continue to bear the burden of participation in the offering, achieving a virtuous cycle of giving and making progress in ministries.
The Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, recently interviewed Pastor Li about tithing.
Gospel Times: Do you emphasize tithing in your daily ministry? What do you think about tithing in the church?
Pastor Li: The pastors of our church do not always stress too much about tithing to the believers. Instead, they imperceptibly instill the truth to the believers in their daily scripture interpretation and help them establish correct understanding.
In my opinion, whether believers are zealous in their offering depends on their correct cognition of God and the nature of their offering. If there is a misunderstanding between the two, it is easy to form a biased concept, which then affects their enthusiasm to participate in tithing. Therefore, correcting the cognitive concept of believers depends on the correct preaching based on biblical truth by the church pastor.
As for the opinion of some believers that “tithing is to donate your money to the church, which means that each time you donate your money, you will have less money”, I think this idea is the manifestation of believers’ secularization and simple understanding of tithing.
The Bible never teaches us to take. Rather, it teaches that Christians should seek spiritual, not physical, blessings from God. As for the blessings of the flesh, God has voluntarily given us, so we Christians should learn from God to actively give, and tithing is also giving. The Bible also says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Therefore, in our church, both pastors and believers have a correct understanding of tithing, so everyone’s enthusiasm to participate in tithing is also guaranteed.
Gospel Times: How do you think grassroots pastors should lead their believers to actively participate in the offering?
Pastor Li: At the beginning of leading the Saddleback Church, Pastor Rick Warren gave a vision to all the believers that he would build a church for 10,000 people, send thousands of Christians to preach the Gospel, and increase the number of believers by tens of thousands within ten years. At that time the present believers were in an uproar. They thought that it was just the priest’s wishful thinking. They laughed it off. Undaunted, however, Pastor Rick kept on delivering his vision to everyone at every meeting, once, twice, and so forth. After more than ten times of preaching, the congregation was moved by the pastor’s firm faith and fiery hope and responded to the vision of the pastor one after another, and actively engaged in the church building and missionary work. A few years later, his vision really came true, the church really built a church for ten thousand people, and the mission goal was also successfully achieved.
This shows that if the pastor of a church wants to motivate believers to actively participate in tithing, he (she) needs to convey visions to believers with strong confidence. As long as the faith is strong enough, the vision can be planted in the heart of the believer. Then the believers will contribute to the offering of the church, and finally, the vision will be realized.
Secondly, the church pastor should act as a solid backing for believers. Whether at the level of belief or reality, the pastor should actively assume responsibilities, lead and encourage believers to stick to the path of offering and dedicating.
When our church was founded, we didn’t even have a bench, so we encouraged believers to contribute to the church. Many old people could not afford to give financially, so they could only give away their old clothes. Although the clothes are not used in the church, they are a part of the believer’s heart. So, we used the old clothes and filled them with straw to make cushions. In this way, we not only supplemented the insufficiency of the church cushions, but also did not discourage the enthusiasm of believers’ dedication, and it was a good start.
With the gradual development of the church, we pastoral workers will spontaneously take the lead in the tithing. Families with good harvests can contribute food, while skilled workers can contribute tables, chairs, benches, and other homemade furniture for the church. Whatever the form or the amount of each offering, as long as it’s the wholehearted giving to God, it will be remembered by God.
In this way, led by the long-term example set by the pastoral workers, the enthusiasm of believers’ dedication has also been slowly mobilized. As time goes by, giving has become the default behavior in our church, and it has become a rare thing to fail to do offerings here.
Gospel Times: How do you think tithing can be used to help the church better?
Pastor Li: In my opinion, for the church and the pastor, preaching about tithes and offerings and leading people to tithing are just the foundation. What is more important is to make good use of their offerings, so as to form a positive double-stream channel in the church.
On the one hand, through correct preaching and leadership, believers have a correct cognition of tithing from the heart, so that they are willing to actively contribute, and the church can continue to receive tithes.
In my opinion, it is unhealthy for the church to accumulate offerings. Over the years that I have pastored the church, I have heard many stories of grassroots churches fighting over financial issues within the church, which is a sign of not getting the money flowing.
Nowadays, many grassroots churches in China regard church construction as the most important ministry within the church, and the vast majority of offerings are spent on the cost of building churches. The church construction itself is fault-free, but some churches clearly missed the focus and began to blindly compare with each other, seeking innovation and greatness. The actual cost of building churches far exceeded the actual needs of the church itself.
For example, a town church that used to hold only a few dozen people was built to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. In spite of the improved appearance of the church, the actual congregation turned out to be the same few dozen, and the other rooms were empty. Is this not a waste of tithing? Apart from the cost of building the church, the subsequent maintenance and repair of the new church are all economic pressures that the church will face in the actual operation. Where will the money come from?
So, I think blindly pursuing the establishment of the big church is just meaningless. Rather than the pursuit of spacious tangible architecture, we should let tithing flow. The money should be spent on promoting the Gospel and saving souls, so as to inject more living water into the church, thus enhancing the sense of participation of the pastors, stimulating their activity and enthusiasm, and really helping the church grow into a healthy and dynamic whole.
In our church, for example, we spend more of our funds on promoting the Gospel, such as encouraging charity and supporting grassroots evangelists. Over the years, we have devoted a large part of our tithes to supporting rural poverty alleviation, education assistance and emergency relief in remote areas and ethnic minorities. At the same time, within the church, we regularly share our public service work with believers.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
在当今中国基层教会的牧者与信徒中，“奉献”似乎是个稍显矛盾却又弥足重要的话题。不少基层教会常年都苦于奉献不足，事工开展举步维艰；而部分信徒也常常因为“常常奉献，但看不出什么果效”，致使奉献热情日渐退却。
但是，一位牧者却做到了二者之间的极佳平衡。在他的教会中，做到坚持十一奉献的信徒超过九成，而奉献款项都在公开透明的环境下更好的推进了教会的发展，进而促进信徒不断产生负担参与奉献，实现了奉献与发展的良性循环。
近日，福音时报与这位李牧师就奉献话题进行了交流。
Q：您在日常的牧养中会着重鼓励信徒参与十一奉献吗？您觉得教会里应当怎样讲奉献呢？
A：我们教会的牧者并不会常常向信徒过多着重强调奉献，而是在日常的解经中向信徒潜移默化的灌输真理，帮助信徒建立起正确的认识。
我认为，信徒是否热心奉献，在于其对神的认识以及奉献本质认知是否正确。若对二者存在误解，就容易形成偏颇的观念，进而影响其参与十一奉献的积极性。
因此，想要摆正信徒的认知观念，离不开教会牧者基于圣经真理的正确传讲。
而对于一些信徒认为的“奉献就是拿出自己的钱捐给教会，意味着每一次奉献自己就少一份金钱”这一观点，我觉得，这种观念正是信徒将“奉献”世俗化与浅显化理解的表现。
圣经从来没有教导我们索取，而是教导基督徒应当从上帝那里寻求属灵的福气，而非肉体的福气。至于肉体的福气，上帝已经主动赐给了我们，所以我们基督徒更应当学习上帝，学会主动的给予，而奉献也是给予。
圣经里也说：“施比受更为有福。”所以，在我们教会，不论是牧者还是信徒，都对奉献有着十分正确的认知，所以大家参与十一奉献的积极性也就很有保证了。
Q:您认为基层牧者应当怎么带领信徒积极参与奉献呢？
A:华理克牧师在刚刚带领教会时，便向全场所有信徒传讲了异象，向大家表示要建立起一个万人大礼堂，并差派成千上万的基督徒传扬福音、十年内要增加上万名信徒……当时在场的信徒们十分哗然，纷纷认为牧师恐怕是在痴人说梦，便一笑置之。然而华理克牧师并没有气馁，每次聚会都会坚持向大家传递着自己的异象，一次、两次……在传讲了十几次后，会众们被牧师坚定的信心与火热的盼望所打动，纷纷呼应牧师的异象，并积极的投身到建堂、宣教的事工中。数年后，他的异象果然实现，这间教会真的建成了上万人的教堂，宣教的目标也顺利达成。
这就说明，教会牧者要想带动信徒积极参与奉献，就需要带着强烈的信心，向信徒坚持不懈地传递异象。只要信心够充足，异象一定能够根植入信徒的心中，进而促成信徒产生为教会奉献的负担，最终异象的实现。
其次，教会牧长要为信徒充当坚实后盾，无论是信仰层面还是现实层面，牧长需要积极承担起责任，带领信徒、鼓舞信徒坚持在供养奉献的道路上走下去。
我们教会初创的时候连条板凳也没有，我们牧者同工就鼓励信徒为教堂做奉献，不少老人家一时拿不出钱，就只能把自己家的旧衣服奉献了出来。尽管教会里用不上这些衣服，但毕竟是信徒的一份心意。所以我们同工就把旧衣服改了改，填上稻草，做成了坐垫。这样一来，既补充了教会坐垫的不足，还没有打击信徒奉献的积极性，也算是开了个好头。
随着教会逐渐发展起来，我们牧者同工就自发带头进行十一奉献，丰收的家庭可以奉献粮食，会手艺的同工可以为教会奉献桌椅板凳等自制家具……不论形式如何，奉献多寡，只要是为神全心全意做奉献，都会被神所记念。
就这样，在牧者同工的长期以身作则的带动下，信徒们奉献的积极性也慢慢被调动起来了，久而久之，奉献在我们教会成了大家默认的行为习惯，没有做到奉献反而在我们这里成了少见的事了。
Q：您觉得奉献应该怎么用才能对教会产生更好的助力呢？
A：我认为，对于教会与牧者而言，传讲、带领奉献这些都只是基础，更重要的就是要用好奉献，把信徒的奉献用在刀刃上，这样才能在教会形成正向的双流管道。
一方面，通过正确的传讲与带领，信徒从内心对于奉献有了正确的认知，从而心甘情愿积极奉献，教会也可以持续获得奉献；
在我个人看来，在教会内出现奉献款堆积的现象是不健康的。我牧养教会这么些年，也听说过不少基层教会因为堂内财务问题导致纷争的消息，这其实就是没有让奉献款流动起来的表现。
现如今，中国有不少基层教会都把建堂事工当作堂内的一项最重要事工来看待，绝大多数奉献款全部用在了建堂的花销上面。
建堂本身并无可指摘，但是一部分教会显然抓错了重点，开始盲目攀比，求新求大，建堂的实际付出远远超出了教会本身的实际需求。
比如一家本来仅有几十人聚会的乡镇教堂，建新堂时却建成了可容纳成百上千人的教堂。尽管外表看上去气派了不少，到头来，实际参加聚会的信徒还是这几十个人，其他屋子还是空闲着的。
这种情况岂不是对奉献的浪费吗？除去建堂时的花销，后续新堂的维护修缮都是教堂实际运行将要面临的经济压力，那这些钱又从哪来呢？
所以，我认为盲目追求大教堂的建立并没有意义，与其追求徒有其表的有形建筑，不如让奉献流动起来，踏实用在宣扬福音、拯救灵魂上，为教会灌注更多的活水，进而提升牧者信徒的参与感，激发大家的活跃度与积极性，真正帮助教会成长为一个健康且具有活力的整体。
拿我们教会来说，我们把奉献款更多的用在了诸如鼓励公益慈善，以及供养基层传道人这些传扬福音的事工上。
长期以来，我们会把奉献的一大部分用于支持偏远地区与少数民族的扶贫助农、爱心助学、紧急救援等公益事工。与此同时，在教会内部，我们也会把开展的公益事工定期向信徒做分享汇报
【牧者专访】如何让奉献在教会内形成良性循环？
Editor's note: Among the pastors and believers of grassroots churches in China today, tithing seems to be a somewhat complex but very important topic. Many grassroots churches have been suffering from the lack of giving all year round, making it difficult for them to carry out their ministries. And the enthusiasm of some believers for tithing gradually fades because of “giving much but seeing no evident difference”.
But one pastor seemed to manage to strike a perfect balance. In his church, more than 90% of believers adhere to tithe, and the donations are under open supervision to better promote the development of the church. He then encourages the members to continue to bear the burden of participation in the offering, achieving a virtuous cycle of giving and making progress in ministries.
The Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, recently interviewed Pastor Li about tithing.
Gospel Times: Do you emphasize tithing in your daily ministry? What do you think about tithing in the church?
Pastor Li: The pastors of our church do not always stress too much about tithing to the believers. Instead, they imperceptibly instill the truth to the believers in their daily scripture interpretation and help them establish correct understanding.
In my opinion, whether believers are zealous in their offering depends on their correct cognition of God and the nature of their offering. If there is a misunderstanding between the two, it is easy to form a biased concept, which then affects their enthusiasm to participate in tithing. Therefore, correcting the cognitive concept of believers depends on the correct preaching based on biblical truth by the church pastor.
As for the opinion of some believers that “tithing is to donate your money to the church, which means that each time you donate your money, you will have less money”, I think this idea is the manifestation of believers’ secularization and simple understanding of tithing.
The Bible never teaches us to take. Rather, it teaches that Christians should seek spiritual, not physical, blessings from God. As for the blessings of the flesh, God has voluntarily given us, so we Christians should learn from God to actively give, and tithing is also giving. The Bible also says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Therefore, in our church, both pastors and believers have a correct understanding of tithing, so everyone’s enthusiasm to participate in tithing is also guaranteed.
Gospel Times: How do you think grassroots pastors should lead their believers to actively participate in the offering?
Pastor Li: At the beginning of leading the Saddleback Church, Pastor Rick Warren gave a vision to all the believers that he would build a church for 10,000 people, send thousands of Christians to preach the Gospel, and increase the number of believers by tens of thousands within ten years. At that time the present believers were in an uproar. They thought that it was just the priest’s wishful thinking. They laughed it off. Undaunted, however, Pastor Rick kept on delivering his vision to everyone at every meeting, once, twice, and so forth. After more than ten times of preaching, the congregation was moved by the pastor’s firm faith and fiery hope and responded to the vision of the pastor one after another, and actively engaged in the church building and missionary work. A few years later, his vision really came true, the church really built a church for ten thousand people, and the mission goal was also successfully achieved.
This shows that if the pastor of a church wants to motivate believers to actively participate in tithing, he (she) needs to convey visions to believers with strong confidence. As long as the faith is strong enough, the vision can be planted in the heart of the believer. Then the believers will contribute to the offering of the church, and finally, the vision will be realized.
Secondly, the church pastor should act as a solid backing for believers. Whether at the level of belief or reality, the pastor should actively assume responsibilities, lead and encourage believers to stick to the path of offering and dedicating.
When our church was founded, we didn’t even have a bench, so we encouraged believers to contribute to the church. Many old people could not afford to give financially, so they could only give away their old clothes. Although the clothes are not used in the church, they are a part of the believer’s heart. So, we used the old clothes and filled them with straw to make cushions. In this way, we not only supplemented the insufficiency of the church cushions, but also did not discourage the enthusiasm of believers’ dedication, and it was a good start.
With the gradual development of the church, we pastoral workers will spontaneously take the lead in the tithing. Families with good harvests can contribute food, while skilled workers can contribute tables, chairs, benches, and other homemade furniture for the church. Whatever the form or the amount of each offering, as long as it’s the wholehearted giving to God, it will be remembered by God.
In this way, led by the long-term example set by the pastoral workers, the enthusiasm of believers’ dedication has also been slowly mobilized. As time goes by, giving has become the default behavior in our church, and it has become a rare thing to fail to do offerings here.
Gospel Times: How do you think tithing can be used to help the church better?
Pastor Li: In my opinion, for the church and the pastor, preaching about tithes and offerings and leading people to tithing are just the foundation. What is more important is to make good use of their offerings, so as to form a positive double-stream channel in the church.
On the one hand, through correct preaching and leadership, believers have a correct cognition of tithing from the heart, so that they are willing to actively contribute, and the church can continue to receive tithes.
In my opinion, it is unhealthy for the church to accumulate offerings. Over the years that I have pastored the church, I have heard many stories of grassroots churches fighting over financial issues within the church, which is a sign of not getting the money flowing.
Nowadays, many grassroots churches in China regard church construction as the most important ministry within the church, and the vast majority of offerings are spent on the cost of building churches. The church construction itself is fault-free, but some churches clearly missed the focus and began to blindly compare with each other, seeking innovation and greatness. The actual cost of building churches far exceeded the actual needs of the church itself.
For example, a town church that used to hold only a few dozen people was built to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. In spite of the improved appearance of the church, the actual congregation turned out to be the same few dozen, and the other rooms were empty. Is this not a waste of tithing? Apart from the cost of building the church, the subsequent maintenance and repair of the new church are all economic pressures that the church will face in the actual operation. Where will the money come from?
So, I think blindly pursuing the establishment of the big church is just meaningless. Rather than the pursuit of spacious tangible architecture, we should let tithing flow. The money should be spent on promoting the Gospel and saving souls, so as to inject more living water into the church, thus enhancing the sense of participation of the pastors, stimulating their activity and enthusiasm, and really helping the church grow into a healthy and dynamic whole.
In our church, for example, we spend more of our funds on promoting the Gospel, such as encouraging charity and supporting grassroots evangelists. Over the years, we have devoted a large part of our tithes to supporting rural poverty alleviation, education assistance and emergency relief in remote areas and ethnic minorities. At the same time, within the church, we regularly share our public service work with believers.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
[Interview] Pastor Says Virtuous Cycle of Giving Is Possible in the Church
