If you have attended a worship service recently have you noticed what I have? There are a lot of empty baskets and buckets being passed around.
When I grew up I remember hearing change and watching people putting in their hard earned money into the offering. Not now, it seems to be more of a less awkward way in church to see the person seating next to you.
Recently I was at a meeting where we were discussing how we could help people improve their finances. In this meeting someone mentioned they have clients that inquire about being able to give while they are getting out of their financial situation. Plus the all time favorite do you tithe on the gross or the net.
As the discussion continued I brought up the stat that I knew as "truth" that only 2% of the Americans actually tithe to the church. So what would the community look like if we could get people to simply give something.
My shock to this was everyone was in disbelieving what I said. My little circle of influence that is all that we have heard. The worst part for me is I've only heard it and never looked it up.
Well I have looked it up and it's better than I thought, but people we have a long way to go. In April 2013 Barna published an article entitled American Donor Trends. In this article they state:
Tithing remained stable in 2012, though at the lower end of the typical
range. The research shows that 5% of adults qualify as having
tithed—giving 10% or more of their annual income to a church or
non-profit organizations. In 2009, before the financial crisis, tithing
was 7%, then dipped to 4% in 2010 and 2011. (Note: Barna calculates this
“tithing” rate based on total giving divided by household income, not
by asking survey respondents to estimate percentages.) Among born again
Christians, which includes both evangelicals and non-evangelicals, 12%
tithed in 2012, which is on par with the average for the past decade.
Information is power is it not.
I leave you with the annual State of the Plate survey results to equip you better as well.
