For churches and nonprofit ministries December is a vital time. Many nonprofits report receiving between 25 to 35 percent of their annual budget during the final month of the year. One local nonprofit with which I am familiar anticipates almost half of its budget in the last two months of the year.
Many churches report similar patterns though the percentages are not as dramatic. If all members gave in a regular, systematic pattern then each month’s receipts would provide one-twelfth of the annual budget or 8.33 percent. But church giving is not that smooth. Giving is impacted by everything from the weather to the season of the year.
December giving for many churches accounts for 15 to 20 percent of the total year’s income.
December is a time for some members to catch up their tithes and offerings for any shortages caused by absence or other circumstances. In December some decide they are able to give extra offerings. Others routinely examine their year-end financial situation in December. This frequently results in decisions to increase charitable giving. Christians reason they can support causes in which they believe in as well as reduce their tax liability for state and national income taxes. That is a win-win situation for all involved.
Year-end giving
Churches recognize the importance of year-end giving and frequently facilitate this year-end push by providing members with updates about their giving. That way members can determine if their actions reflected their intentions. Nonprofit ministries often make year-end appeals as well, praying for special donations.
Obviously December is an important time of Christian stewardship for individuals, for churches and for nonprofit ministries.
Increasingly church members use the year-end review of their financial condition as a time to plan for the future — not just what their annual giving will be but plans for how their resources will be used at the time of their death.
It was shocking to learn that only about 1 in 40 active church members included Christian causes in their estate plans. It seems most Christians leave everything to their children, even when their children are already well established and financially secure. Obviously much work must be done to reinforce the biblical teaching that how resources are used at the time of one’s death is an important expression of Christian stewardship.
Certainly concern about the welfare of one’s family is appropriate (1 Tim. 5:8), but that does not lessen the responsibility of Christian stewardship. Nor does it mean the Christian should facilitate conduct and lifestyles contrary to the values and faith of the believer. Stewardship is not just about the tithe nor just about the tithe and offerings. Stewardship is about how one uses all of one’s resources because all we have comes from God.
Stewardship begins with faithful giving through the church. It continues with how all we have is used to reflect the values of the Christian faith. That includes during our lifetime and beyond.
The Alabama Baptist regularly teaches biblical tithing directed through the local church. The publication promotes supporting all Baptists do together by channeling support for missions and ministries through the Cooperative Program. We encourage giving to the special missions offerings. The paper supports endowment campaigns by various Baptist entities.
Consider giving
For the first time in the 19 years I have been editor, we are asking readers to consider a gift to undergird the vital ministry of The Alabama Baptist.
Baptists only participate with their person, pocketbook and prayers in those causes which they care about. But before one can care about something, one must know about it. The Alabama Baptist has the privilege of being the Baptist ministry charged with keeping Alabama Baptists informed about what God is doing among and through Baptists at home and around the world.
As proof of this principle, study after study has demonstrated that churches that provide the state Baptist paper for active resident families give more to missions causes than churches that do not provide the paper. Churches that provide the paper also participate more in Baptist life beyond the local church than churches that do not provide the paper.
The findings simply document that every volunteer organization — even the church — needs a reliable, trustworthy source of ongoing information to help cast a common vision which in turn facilities cooperation. The writer of Proverbs said the same thing long ago when he wrote in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained” (NASV).
Where this common source of trustworthy and reliable information is no longer available for active resident church families, the first step toward a breakdown of cooperation has taken place. It may take a while for the process to work itself out but the wider vision of the kingdom of God expressed through cooperative efforts of like-minded Baptists will give way to a hyper-local vision of a single congregation.
The importance of disseminating Baptist news and information as widely as possible resulted in an operating principle adopted in 1950 and is still in place — that subscription costs should be as low as possible in order to be affordable by Alabama Baptist churches. Today’s subscription cost of 28 cents a week or $13.75 annually covers only the cost of printing and mailing the paper. All other costs must be generated from other sources including special gifts.
The Alabama Baptist is making a difference in the lives of countless readers. It is making a difference in the lives of churches and certainly in the corporate life of the Alabama Baptist State Convention. If this ministry did not exist, Alabama Baptists would have to invent it anew. It is worthy of support. That is why I have included The Alabama Baptist in my estate plan.
The ministry’s goal is to inform Alabama Baptists for understanding, to inspire for Christian growth and to connect for missions and ministries. That requires subscriptions so people can access the information. It also takes resources such as special gifts that undergird the ongoing work of the ministry. When you are reflecting on your total Christian stewardship this December please pray about including The Alabama Baptist among the ministries you support.
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