When discussing church finance the question always comes up. Do church members have to tithe? The answer is plain in the scripture, YES, church members must tithe to remain faithful to God and their local church.
Why do members need to tithe
Members and regular church attenders need to tithe for many reasons.
- The Church runs on tithes.
- Edification of the members.
- Following the Scriptures faithfully.
The church runs on tithes. Without the influx of financial capital, it would be impossible for most churches to continue to function. Due to the fact that most churches operate as non-profit entities (at least in the United States), it is against the “rules” for the church to run a for-profit business within the church. Some churches operate via endowments and dividend earnings from investment holdings, these are an exception instead of the norm.
Edification of the Body is a major component of tithing. This is an opportunity for the church member to “stretch their legs” spiritually. When giving to the church, it allows every single member to have a tangible connection to the functions of the church. This is also a chance for the individual giver to feel the sacrifice of giving to the church.
The Bible has many different ways and places that call for the members to tithe and support the church. There is a list of over 60+ verses at the end of this article for you to reference.
What does the bible say about tithing
It can’t get much more straight forward than this!
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7 ESVÂ
Who actually receives the tithe
The dissemination of the funds will differ from church to church, but there are some standard categories that most churches will prioritize.
- Staff Salaries
- Rent/ Utilities
- Missions
- Renovations
Staff salaries are one of the highest costs for most churches. This is one can vary wildly depending on many factors. See this post about How much to pay a pastor, for more info. Salaries and benefits can often top 50% of a church’s budget. This is a relatively fixed cost that SHOULD NOT go unpaid.
Rent/ Mortgage is another fixed cost that has very little wiggle room. There is almost nothing sadder than a small church that over-buys on a church that they can’t fill, thus preventing any growth, missions, or real work from being done.
Utilities are not a truly fixed cost, they can be cut. Often we forget that doors and windows can be opened in the summer. Heat can be provided in more ways than your local monopoly of choice. However, the media team does enjoy electricity and the children like to no read by candlelight, so make sure to not forget this line item in the budget.
Missions are usually broken into inreach and outreach.
Inreach is the service directed towards those who are already involved within the church. This can include events and retreats dedicated to specific genres within the church ie. men’s retreat.
Outreach is a more community-driven activities such as Christmas pageants and Vacation Bible Schools.
Renovations come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes its as simple as cleaning and some paint, other times it requires pulling permits and hiring contractors. Regardless this variable cost is tough to budget for and may require special mention during a service.
For a (very rough) example, I made up a quick chart that you could use to present yearly financials to your church.
Why is it that some members are not tithing and how to fix it
- Lack of belief
- Lack of knowledge of the finances
- Lack of financial stability
- Lack of involvement
- Lack of trust in church leadership.
Lack of belief in God and the promises he has made to the church is often the number one issue with giving. This can come into play as a doubt in the Lord’s provision. This is often a multifaceted problem within the church.
Problem #1 is usually a pastoral failure, as the decree to give, is ignored from the pulpit, the flock will also ignore the mandate. This is not a free pass to mention in every service that your congregation is lost if they don’t fund the next project. However, it is the responsibility of the Man in the pulpit to preach on this subject when appropriate.
Problem #2 is a personal failure, without personal investment into the Word daily, it is hard to keep a centered view upon Christ and biblical calls to action. If every member of the church were to read the Bible cover to cover each year, they would read over 2300 different mentions of money or property in the bible. 11 of the over 30 parables Jesus gave, talk about money, that makes me think it might be… important!
From my own personal experience, it is very hard to give you the last few dollars while hoping and praying that God will provide. My wife and I both were truly struggling with this lack of faith. Thanks to a Pastor and friend we came up with an idea/plan to act on faith. We decided to put more into God regardless of what we overtly see as the return. We decided that every time my wife and I have a life change we increase our giving. This includes positives such as pay raises and new children. While also including negative changes such as cut hours and even a layoff. We personally don’t notice a 1-2% increase in giving comparing month to month, but this multiplicative power of life events has boosted our tithe substantially over the years.
Josh-TheChurchAdmin
Lack of knowledge on how to give and where it goes.
How to give is more troublesome for some churches than others. In your handout/ bulletin, there should be a clearly denoted section about giving. Allow for a statement that guests shouldn’t feel obligated to give and that those that wish to give can do so via the various options your church uses.
The lack of knowledge if the planning for and usage of funds is what keeps many members and long time attenders from giving.
This is where a yearly financial plan/ review/ presentation can be very helpful. Often people only see the offering basket circling the sanctuary at the end of service and don’t know much beyond that about the inner workings of the finances. While I don’t think it is prudent to have every staff member submit W-2’s on-demand to nosy congregants, generalities are helpful. The above chart gives some illumination to the congregation, and it also provides some privacy and comfort for the staff. Often people just want to know where their money is going and what is being done with it.
Lack of stability in their finances and debt. Debt is a plague in the American landscape, especially in today’s gig economy. This leads to a compounding effect of constant and overwhelming outflows of cash with limited and inconsistent inflows of anything.
Something that can truly change the culture of giving in your church as well as the lives of your church members is the inclusion of some type of financial literacy training or resources. With the emphasis being placed on proper stewardship of God’s resources and not just on filling the coffers.
Approaching the idea of finances wholistically will help to rearrange priorities, increase incomes, and decrease debt. All of which will inevitably increase the CHEERFUL giving of the church.
Lack of involvement within the church. The difference between a member and a spectator is simply involvement. By increasing engagement within the church and various ministries, each member will be more connected within the church. This allows for more stewardship, ownership of responsibilities, and consistency.
While the benefits of stewardship over a specific ministry should be evident, the consistency is the key. This consistency is what drives many to make the church a priority over other things in their lives.
Lack of trust in the church leaders and God. This is the hardest issue to fix. Without offering a list of dead-ended cliches, the issues here go much further than giving. This is the sign of a dying church that needs to be addressed ASAP!!!
How to tithe even if money is tight
Give what you can, in the New Testament, there isn’t a mandated 10% quota to hit. Give with a happy heart, anything given reluctantly will only burdensome instead of a blessing. Give back to God first! After all, it is all His in the first place.
If money is truly so tight that life needs are unable to be maintained, then consider some alternatives. Tithe your time or skills. Sacrifice shouldn’t be comfy, tithing should stretch your faith. Consider a luxury tax, cut your cable for Christ.
Over 60+ verses about tithe and offering
New Testament Verses
Matthew 6:1-4 ESVÂ
âBeware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. âThus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:21 ESV
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:33 ESV
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 10:8 ESV
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
Matthew 23:23 ESV
âWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Mark 7:9-13 ESV
And he said to them, âYou have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, âHonor your father and your motherâ; and, âWhoever reviles father or mother must surely die.â But you say, âIf a man tells his father or his mother, âWhatever you would have gained from me is Corbanââ (that is, given to God)â then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.â
Mark 12:41-44 ESV
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, âTruly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.â
Luke 6:38 ESV
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.â
Luke 11:42 ESV
âBut woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Luke 16:10 ESV
âOne who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Luke 18:10-14 ESV
âTwo men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: âGod, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.â But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, âGod, be merciful to me, a sinner!â I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.â
Luke 21:1-4 ESV
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, âTruly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.â
Acts 4:34-35 ESV
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Acts 11:27-29 ESV
Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
Acts 20:35 ESV
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, âIt is more blessed to give than to receive.ââ
Romans 13:7 ESV /
Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saintsâ and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
Galatians 6:9 ESV
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Philippians 4:19 ESV
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, âYou shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,â and, âThe laborer deserves his wages.â
1 Timothy 6:10 ESV
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Hebrews 7:5 ESV
And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
Hebrews 7:8 ESV
In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
Hebrews 7:1-9 ESV
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,
James 1:27 ESV
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Old Testament Verses
Genesis 4:1-26 ESV
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, âI have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.â And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regardâŚ.
Genesis 14:18-20 ESV
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, âBlessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!â And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Genesis 28:22 ESV
And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.â
Exodus 25:2 ESV
âSpeak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
âEvery tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord. One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.â These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.
Numbers 18:20-24 ESV
And the Lord said to Aaron, âYou shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel. âTo the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.â
Numbers 18:26 ESV
âMoreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, âWhen you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
Numbers 18:28 ESV
So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord’s contribution to Aaron the priest.
Beware lest you say in your heart, âMy power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.â You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go, and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.
Then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord.
âYou shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desireâoxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household.
âAt the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
Deuteronomy 18:4 ESV
The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
âWhen you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, then you shall say before the Lord your God, âI have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.â
And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. âŚ
Job 41:11 ESV
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
Psalm 24:1 ESV
A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
Psalm 50:7-12 ESV
âHear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. âŚ
Proverbs 3:9 ESV
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
Psalm 4:5 ESV
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.
Proverbs 11:24 ESV
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Proverbs 28:27 ESV
Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
Isaiah 1:16-20 ESV
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. âCome now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.â
We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor.
Nehemiah 10:38 ESV
And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.
Amos 4:4-5 ESV
âCome to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!â declares the Lord God.
Haggai 2:8 ESV
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:1-18 ESV
âBehold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. âThen I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. …
Malachi 3:8-12 ESV
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, âHow have we robbed you?â In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
