Supporting the Church

In an article in CT Pastors, Karl Vaters describes his initial reluctance to talk about money with his church. As the economy grew more challenging and giving fell at his church, he decided that he needed to do a series on stewardship. “As I was preparing for it through study and prayer, I paused to think about some of the other recent challenges our church had faced. Why I was able to address other challenges with a motivating sense of urgency, but talking about a financial need was filling me with dread?” He then realized that the difference had to do with his assumptions about the church. “In each of the previous challenges, I assumed that the people in our church wanted the need to be met, wanted to help out, and wanted to know what the plan was to get us there.”

Paul approached the issue of stewardship with that positive assumption. As he made preparations for his third missionary journey, he instructed churches to participate in the offering he was collecting to help the impoverished believers in Jerusalem (v. 1). He also expected the Corinthians to help with the expenses of his trip (v. 6) and to support Timothy (vv. 10–11).

Paul’s directions were practical. The money should be collected on the first day of the week when the church met for worship. The amount that each was expected to contribute was to be in proportion with their ability. Paul told the church what the funds were to be used for. He outlined measures that would reassure the church that their money was being handled with integrity by promising to send the funds to Jerusalem by approved representatives from the church (v. 3). He also let the Corinthians know their gifts would be joined with others (v. 17).

Pray with Us

Samuel Choy, chief marketing officer at Moody, invites you to pray for Moody’s Strategic Marketing team that he leads, thanking Moody’s friends and supporters as we follow Jesus together. Your faith and generosity lift us up!

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.