Giving

Weekly Worship Offerings- Giving during the worship offering time is an act of thanksgiving and worship. If you have chosen another method of giving, we encourage you to use the offertory time to simply ask God to bless and use your gifts.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)- With EFT, you can reinforce your commitment to give your tithes and offerings to God first, before anything else. EFT guarantees that the church will receive your gifts on a regular basis, even if you are out of town or forget one week. If you choose this option, you will receive an authorization form that will need to be returned with a voided check.

Online banking – Online banking offers another easy, convenient way to contribute on an on-going basis. You simply set up Shiloh UMC as a payee and send payments directly to the church.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” —Luke 12:48 (NIV)

Your pledge is between you and the Lord. Pray about your pledge and then trust God to provide your needs throughout the year. Whatever circumstances may change, the Lord knows way before we do and understands your giving reality.

An excerpt from the United Methodist Guidelines on Stewardship: Steward referred to the servant responsible for purchasing supplies, overseeing the other hired hands, keeping the books and administering the operation of the household. Literally, steward means manager of the household. More than once, Jesus told a story that began, There was a steward who... We are all stewards of God’s household, which first is the whole of creation, not just money. Humankind were placed in the midst of God’s good creation and given the role to represent God as the true owner of the whole of creation. This is the background and foundation for all stewardship action, whether we administer our own household, the church, the community, the nation or the world. There are ecological, economic, and geopolitical implications to God’s call to be stewards of all that God has created. Stewardship starts with one’s relationship to God. The good steward is one whose actions are in alignment with God (the Creator and owner of all that the steward manages).

Individuals as stewards:

We are called to be stewards within our families.

We are stewards of the gifts, talents and abilities that God has given us within the church and the community.

We are stewards of time.

None of us can escape being a steward of God’s possessions.

We model stewardship through our actions and attitudes, by serving and giving.

Church as Steward:

The congregation is a steward in the way it celebrates joy and weeps with those who go through times of sorrow.

A congregation is a steward when it organizes a neighborhood cleanup campaign.

The church is a steward when it unlocks its doors during the week and invites the entire community to come in for prayer and meditation.

A congregation is a steward when it faithfully and effectively gives witness to the Gospel.

A congregation is a faithful steward when its business meetings support healthy organizational life.

The congregation is a steward in the ways it makes use of its properties.

The word, "tithe" means “tenth or 10%”. A tithe is the first 10% of your income. An offering is anything you give above and beyond the 10%.

WHY DO WE TITHE?

In Deuteronomy 14:23 TLB we read that the purpose of tithing is to teach us to always put God first in our lives. Tithing is a reminder that God is the supplier of everything we have. It is an act of worship and sacrifice that we bring before our Father. In Malachi 3:10 (NLT), God says this: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

In so doing, we are reminded that He is the owner of all that we have, and we are only managers. When we look at money and possessions that way, we inevitably look at every other aspect of our life the same way. Each of us sees himself or herself as the person in charge. We begin to think of God as our servant, there to help us from time to time when we call upon Him. Rather, we should see ourselves as God’s servants, ready always to do His will. That is why we call Him Lord, meaning “ruler,” “owner,” “sovereign,” “king.”

This is why giving to God is so important. It reminds us of who He is, who we are, and what our relationship should be to the things He has allowed us to manage in His name.