Principles of Generosity

As we wrap up the Generosity series, please note our main goal: to be generous in ways that honor and glorify God. After over twenty years in ordained ministry, it has become apparent that many long-time church members, and some pastors, are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the principles of faithful money management. The biblical term to describe this way of being caretakers of our financial possessions is stewardship, and every year in churches where I serve I ensure there is a stewardship season in which members are taught biblical principles of faithful giving, which includes an opportunity to support the annual budget. The season always concludes with a Dedication Sunday. 

This year we are doing something different for Dedication Sunday, which I will explain at the end of this document. Keep reading and know it’s o.k. to ask questions. My email and cell phone are shown at the end. 

Note first I grew up with an extended family of Jesus people who gave of their financial blessings. Everybody, from grandparents down to my parents, participated in their church pledge drives and giving campaigns. My father made a point of explaining how there were things we were not buying so we could give in a manner to bring long term blessings for the church and for our family. 

As a kid, it was difficult to comprehend why our family didn’t buy new cars, or take fancy trips. We were not poor, but I remember noticing other people in our neighborhood had more stuff and they did more fun things that cost money. 

When I was thirteen I officially joined the church, and my father explained how I would have to make a choice as a believer. I could follow the principles of financial faithfulness God reveals through His word, or I could spend more money on myself. He left the choice up to me when I started working as to how much I would set aside as a financial pledge to Christ’s church. 

I have lived with that mindset from a young believer into adult discipleship. So as you read through a short summary of principles about generosity that glorify God, I would ask you to prayerfully consider how you manage your assets. And remember, at the end of this review I’ll explain what we’re doing that is different this year for Dedication Sunday (October 26th). 

The principles of biblical giving can be thought of in several big themes. I've chosen the five that stand out for my own personal stewardship. The big ideas are: 1) proportional giving, 2) sacrificial giving, 3) cheerful giving, 4) worshipful giving, and 5) intentional giving.

First, God-honoring giving is proportional. There are guidelines from the Old Testament some Christian reference to suggest 10 percent is the giving standard. However, Jesus teaches something more challenging. Specifically, in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:4, Jesus noted a woman dropping in coins to the offering. He reminded the religious people how the gift she gave was more meaningful because as a proportion of what she had, her gift was more. You and I both know people are have different amounts of income. But who do you think is more generous - a billionaire giving from their abundance, or a person on fixed income who has to think about what is being given? 

Second, God-honoring giving is sacrificial. Giving “what we can afford” typically means we are not willing to alter our lifestyles to give generously. God would never want people to sacrifice their income to the point they could not pay bills or eat, but for many believers the idea of giving something up in order to give away more is a foreign concept. Yet we read in the New Testament how churches who faced hardships and challenges did just that: they gave sacrificially with joy in order to support the work of the early church (2 Corinthians 8:1-7). 

Third, God-honoring giving is cheerful. Making a financial commitment on a pledge card with a hesitant spirit is not the spirit of giving God wants from His people. God wants us to experience how giving away what we have been blessed with frees us for a new way of thinking about what is truly important in life. Our relationship with God is often clouded by the stress we create by cluttering up our lives with too many financial commitments. Being cheerful is more than putting on a happy face, it is about believing God has already given us the most valuable gift we could ever hope for in our relationship with Christ.

Fourth, God-honoring giving is worshipful. This is a tough thing to talk about because somebody reading this has probably withheld giving from Christ’s church under the pretense of, “I’m not happy with what the church is doing.” In truth and according to God’s word, that believer subjects himself or herself to a form of judgement that comes from a misunderstanding about the blessings we receive - blessings are returned as a worship offering and never used as a leverage of power. Giving in churches is never to be used as a tool of manipulation or voting power - that’s politics. A person who attends a small church should give at the same rate he/she would give at a large church, and a person who follows Jesus should always give as an act of worship. 

Fifth, God-honoring giving is intentional.  Think of this as what the biblical authors describe as “first fruits.” Stewardship is a specific form of care taking God assigns to you and me as His people. When we choose to give “whenever the mood strikes us,” we disregard the very real power behind the material possessions in our care. And from a biblical example, we should remember God always told His people to set aside the first of their labor as an offering to the Lord, not their leftovers. Our giving should reflect a thoughtful, prayerful and intentional choice to return a portion of what God has placed in our care for the purpose of furthering the work of the church. And when we talk about “the work of the church,” let us remember we are more than a non-profit called to submit an annual report. After all, what value would be put on the countless hours of anthems sung by our choir, or praise songs offered by our praise team? What cost would you put on the work of helping families plan a memorial service? 

There are other principles of generosity to explore as a believer, but for this season I am asking you to pray about those five things in your planning for 2026. During this Generosity stewardship campaign you won’t hear about these principles as much as in the past, but you will hear multiple reminders to pray about your reflections within these five areas when you prepare to turn in a pledge card on Sunday, October 26th. 

And the pledge cards is where we’re doing something different this year. 

On Sunday, October 26th we will ask 100% of the people in attendance to participate in our pledge dedication by filling out a card. However, this year we will not open the cards to read the amount you pledge. Your dedication figure, even if you fill out your card and leave it blank, will only be known by you and God. 

To be clear, in the past we’ve collected cards, opened them and then tallied the results to create a budget for the next calendar year. This year we will only have a record that you turned in a card. We will not open the envelopes to record the amounts. 

You might be wondering, “How will San Pedro create a budget?” This year we will act by faith to create a budget based on both what we did in 2025 and also what we would like to do in 2026. We will be much more detailed in our expense projections, but we will also identify our “faith based budget items” we would like to fund in 2026 that can only happen if our San Pedro family is generous. Our budget will not be outrageous and it will take into account how many people turned in pledge cards. I have done this before. We are not the only church to utilize this technique, and there will be logic behind what we approve for next year's budget.

So before October 26th, I’m personally asking our Elders and staff to seek the Lord's blessing for our needs and vision for 2026. I’m also personally asking you to participate, even if you’ve never turned in a pledge card before, by praying about how much God is asking you to set aside for His glory from your financial blessings. 

Here are a few closing thoughts for you to consider as we prepare for October 26th. 

First, you can not out give God. There has never, ever been a time in my family’s life where God did not respond to our faithfulness. Kerry and I have never argued about money because from the beginning of our marriage we agreed God would be first in our financial planning. God has never disappointed us in His provisions for our family.

Second, you can always find a reason to hoard what you have today. There is never a perfect time to start giving generously, because there are always things we are thinking about in terms of what we can afford tomorrow. But God wants to teach us something today about putting more of our faith in Him. 

And finally, churches who do not accept, teach and practice biblical principles of generosity can not expect to be blessed by God in the future. San Pedro has a wonderful history of generosity and I would not be faithful to my calling if I did not teach these ideas about generosity every year. 

Harkening back to my childhood, I am thankful for the example modeled to me by my family through their proportional, sacrificial, cheerful, worshipful, and intentional giving. As an adult I give thank for what they actually gave me, which is much more than what I thought my friends had. My dad still strives to give away 25% of his income to the Lord (and he still drives used cars). Family examples and the saints I’ve met in the churches I’ve served have helped me nurture a God-honoring relationship with Jesus through generous stewardship. 

And so Kerry and I turn in a pledge card every year. From our first year of marriage, through lean years with uncertain income, to this very day: giving to the Lord has never been an argument or debate. And God has never disappointed us. 

I’m praying for you this month. Thank you for striving to be a generous follower of Jesus Feel free to email or call with questions. 

  bryan@sanpedrochurch.com 2146633906