Give

Giving is an act of worship as we acknowledge that all we are and all we have belongs to God and comes from God to be used by us for God's purposes according to God's will. This is what it means to be a Steward: to administer the resources of another based on their intent and instructions.

Returning to God a portion of what He has provided to us gives us the opportunity to bear witness to our trust in Him for every provision, to acknowledgement of His sovereignty, and participating in His Kingdom work. Giving specifically to the church incorporates us into the mechanism by which God resources His mission in the world. The church is God's representative community,
the continuing incarnation of Christ in the world.

The work of the church is to bring God's Presence to those who are separated from Him, both in word and deed. God could resource this work directly, but instead chooses to include us in the process by flowing those financial resources through our hands. The financial resources of the church are used not only to vett and qualify external mission partners to support but also to provide for those whose full time vocational calling is to organized, prepare, equip, and lead the body of Christ as a whole. The materials, facilities, and administration of our communal work as the church are necessary to fulfill our communal calling, and those who labor there do so in order to "equip the saints for the work of ministry."
(Ephesians. 4:12)