Meeting 3 | Discipleship Pathway

MODULE 6

Discipleship : Meeting 3

DISCUSS the video “Giving to your Local Church” using the discussion questions below.

Discussion

Questions

1. Why do you think that giving to the local church can be a difficult topic for some people?

2. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Strangely, this verse is sometimes used to do the very thing it warns against: to force people to give! There’s no freedom in that kind of generosity. Have you ever been forced to give?

3. Consider the picture of generosity the video paints. Based on that, what truths can combat the negative “lessons” you may have learned about giving to the church?

4. The video described the local church as both a team and a family. How does this reframe or support your own view of giving to the local church? How can these images help you guide others as they navigate their own obstacles to generosity?

5. DISCIPLER: Take a moment to share how you live out generosity in you own life. How has giving been a blessing to you?

6. Think back to the inventory you took earlier in this module. What steps can you take now in order to live free of resistance and embrace a more generous way of life towards your local church?

7. When we talk about giving to the local church financially, this usually means we’re talking about tithing. A “tithe” is a fancy word from the Old Testament that means one-tenth, or 10%. To give a tithe means they give 10% of what they own as an offering to God, showing they trust him with their possessions and finances—because they all belong to him anyway.

How tithing is done has changed a bit since the Old Testament, but the principle still lives on. Tithing in today’s day and age normally means giving 10% of your financial income to your local church. This is often referred to as the offering in a church service.

How do you see giving 10% of your income to your local church actually supports the expansion of God’s Kingdom?

8. Read Malachi 3:8-10. What does this passage of Scripture reveal about how seriously God takes our offerings toward him?

9. While generosity towards your local church involves giving 10% of your finances, how could you also be generous towards your local church through your talents and your time?

ASSIGNMENT: Write a generosity strategy by answering the questions in the Generosity Strategy below. It is crucial that this is something you cover in prayer, and it must be something that brings you joy. (Joy, as you will find, rises from unexpected places.)

Find that “sweet spot” where you can give obediently in a way that stretches you in your life

with God. When you do, you may realize that you are free in entirely new ways. If you feel

stuck, ask your discipler for some guidance. Share your strategy with your discipler when you’ve

completed it.

Generosity Strategy

By Megan Koch

It’s one thing to have good intentions, but it’s another thing to strategically think of ways to accomplish your goals!

Grab your journal or note taking app, and write out your answer to these questions as you strategize your generosity. It is crucial that this is something you cover in prayer, and it must be something that brings you joy. Joy, as you will find, rises from unexpected places—especially when it comes from giving ourselves away through generosity.

1. What will you give to?

2. How much money will you give to your local church? (Remember the principle on tithing)

3. How much time will you give to your local church?

4. How can you use your giftings to serve in your local church?

5. How often will you give your money, time, and talents?

6. How does all this challenge you?

7. What brings you the most joy in giving in this way?

8. What are you most passionate about, within the church and outside of it? How can you be generous towards that passion?

9. What are next steps in moving this generosity plan forward? (Examples include setting up a regular rhythm of tithing, blocking out time in a calendar for serving, or talking with your church’s pastor on how to get involved on a serving team.