An overwhelming majority of our church committed to joining the Generosity Challenge this past Sunday – a 90 day “test” to see if God will really take care of us when tithing. The rules are simple: give God your FIRST ten percent over the next 90 days and if he doesn’t provide all your needs, OneLife will give every penny back to you. No questions asked.
We all committed together saying, “I’m all in!” and committing to take this chance in response to the idea that Jesus sacrificed for us and called us to do the same. Sacrifice is giving up something we love for something we love even more. We all love our money and stuff, but we love seeing lives changed through the Church even more! It is this kind of sacrifice that will allow us to start our second campus, other future campuses, and partner with church planting around the world.
If you signed up for the Generosity Challenge, you’ll be receiving a series of practical emails and encouragement over the next 90 days, along with healthy accountability so you can track your giving. If you did not sign up or were not at church yesterday to do so, go to www.onelifeknox.com/generosity to sign up today!
Step One
The first step toward completing the Generosity Challenge is to budget for it! Believe it or not, you don’t have to pray long for God to tell you how much you should give. It’s all throughout His Word! The first tenth of everything he gives to us is to be given back to him. If you’re like me – that sounds like a lot. And it is! Because he wants us to depend on HIM, not our stuff. So here are some practical steps to budget for giving God your 10%.
1. Determine needs versus wants. Nearly every American family has “fat” in their budget. These are things we really don’t need, even if we might think we do. For example: we don’t need cable TV, smart phones, internet at home, meals at restaurants, vacations, sports tickets, multiple cars, new clothes, Dollywood trips, hair and nails done up just right, and the list goes on and on. Are these things bad? NO! God wants us to enjoy life and his creation! But they become bad when our first tenth goes to pay for them instead of going back to God. In fact, God says it even harsher. “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:8. By paying for other things with God’s 10%, he says we are robbing him.
2. Give to God FIRST. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God” and THEN all the other things will be added to you. If you take the Generosity Challenge seriously, you will give FIRST instead of paying bills, buying things, or investing. Then you’ll do everything else with the 90% that’s left over and watch God take care of you like never before!
For so many people, this is a radical idea. That’s why we are giving you the opportunity to test God and see if he doesn’t take care of you. I know he will, and I can’t WAIT to hear your stories of how he does!
