04.06.11 The 7th Key for Adding Value to Your Church

7. Give Generously and Cheerfully

My memory is drawn back to the time when the senior pastor of Calvary Temple-TAG, Arusha, Pastor Wilson Kimaro, launched a Fund for expanding the church building. However, not only were we in between jobs at the time but our financial inflows were next to zero given that I had been out of employment for some months. That notwithstanding, my husband and I felt led to pledge a handsome amount towards the Fund. Several months later, God opened doors, enabling us to fulfill the commitment. It was sometime thereafter that our pastor testified about our great faith before the whole congregation, confessing that when we made that pledge, he thought that we were presumably out of our minds due to the extremely stressful period that we had been going through.

When we look at Lydia, she was undoubtedly a generous and cheerful giver. Being a wealthy woman committed to ministry, she must have provided financial support to the church and its members. And, I wish to infer that Lydia’s business must have expanded as a result. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 explains that so beautifully. That verse reads (NIV): ¹⁰Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

A value-adding church members is ready to give cheerfully and generously as prompted or led by the Holy Spirit, that is, without being manipulated or coerced.

Committing your resources to a church project sends a message that you value its activities. Therefore, be willing to generously give your time, labour and or finances, without being coerced (2 Corinthians 9:7-8).