“Make all you can; save all you can; give all you can.” — John Wesley
Current Giving. Tithing to your local church is the first step of biblical stewardship. However, giving above the tithe from your monthly income provides consistent, dependable funding for ministries. Spontaneous giving, such as love offerings, offers an additional opportunity to respond to immediate needs when your heart is moved. Also, be generous with direct gifts from your checking or savings for ministry operations and projects. Stay informed about needs and opportunities to impact Free Will Baptist causes:
Your local church
Education (Christian schools and colleges)
Missions and church planting
Youth ministries (camps, retreats, conferences)
Social ministries (family services, crisis centers, counseling services)
Disaster relief
The Free Will Baptist Endowment (benefits all
national agencies)
Legacy Giving. Giving beyond your lifetime is a great way to continue supporting the Lord’s work after you have gone to your eternal reward. Consider the various types of legacy giving:
Establish and contribute to an endowment to perpetually benefit your cherished ministries.
Designate a bequest in your will or trust to specific ministries.
Establish a charitable gift annuity providing guaranteed income for you and leaving a significant ministry contribution at your death.
Set up a charitable unitrust.
Take the Next Step. When visiting aunts and uncles on their farms as a child, most had no running water in the house. We pumped water from a well near the house and carried it inside. My boyhood sense of adventure thought it great fun to help. But my cousins who lived on these farms had a different take on the situation. To them it was a chore! Rain or shine, blazing heat or bone-chilling cold, they had to have water in the house. And that meant going to the well. It was a happy day when indoor plumbing made the outdoor pump a novelty rather than a necessity. These days, turning the tap for water requires little effort. We forget how blessed we are to have such time and labor-saving convenience.
The ministries of the gospel cannot function without water, that is, the finances required to operate and achieve their purpose. In most cases, they must send someone to the well to get the water they need. Missionaries travel to churches asking for support. Colleges send staff and students out to raise funds and recruit other students. Other ministries hire representatives to oversee and conduct the work of raising funds to underwrite the annual operating budget.
We Free Will Baptists are used to doing nearly all our giving through the offering plate (the pump). Perhaps it’s time to take the next step, giving past the plate and bringing the water inside.
Consider these simple steps to greater ministry giving:
Pray for the Lord’s wisdom to guide your giving, both current and legacy.
Consider unexpected or supplemental income, such as tax refunds or required minimum distributions from an IRA, as sources of additional ministry giving.
Seek counsel from trusted advisors.
Contact the Free Will Baptist Foundation for information and assistance in creating a giving strategy to accomplish your personal goals and maximize the legacy impact for ministries you care about through estate planning and planned giving options.
