Christian Stewardship at St. George's

To be a Christian is to be a steward, plain and simple. Below is what we believe is our role and duty as Christian disciples in how we use our resources to God's glory:

Stewardship is:

• A spiritual lifestyle of holding our time, talent, and treasure in relationship with God.
• A way of growing closer to God through sacred giving from our resources.
• An attitude of respecting God’s creation and our place in it as creatures.

 Stewardship is not:

• Fundraising for the Church.
• Intended to be a burden on people’s lives.
• A gimmick.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a steward is “a person morally responsible for the careful use of money, time, talents, or other resources, especially with respect to the principles or needs of a community or group.” When God created the heavens and the earth, he also created human beings to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26b) By that definition and in the context of Genesis, God made us stewards of His Creation. In other words, everything is God’s, and we are the caretakers of his creation.

On a personal level, that means that there is no such thing as true ownership of property or possessions. We are merely stewards of these things while we live out our earthly lives. When we pass on to the next life, as the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.” It’s all God’s.

Going back to the book of Genesis, when God created human beings, we read, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them…” (Genesis 1:27) To be created in the image of God means that we reflect some of his attributes. For example, God is One who gives. He gives us life; He gives us grace; He gives us our daily bread. As human beings created in God’s image, we, too, are meant to give of ourselves as God gives of Himself.

The Old Testament standard for giving has consistently been the tithe, or one-tenth of one’s income or produce. The New Testament also offers us spiritual guidelines on how we are called to give God His portion: 

• Sacred giving should be proportional to one’s income. (1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 8:12)
• Sacred giving should be consistent. (1 Corinthians 16:2)
• Sacred giving should be sacrificial. (Mark 12:43-44, 2 Corinthians 8:2-3)
• Sacred givers should be cheerful in their giving. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

In ancient times, the tithes and offerings were brought to the temple for sacrifice and distribution. Today, we bring our gifts to Christ’s Church, and it is through sacred giving that the Church is empowered with the resources it needs to carry out its mission of making disciples and transforming people in Christ.

Of course, all offerings are greatly appreciated. We seek to be good stewards of what you give in God's name, and we welcome any questions or comments you may have. For your convenience, we have set up online pledge cards and a new service for pledge fulfillment. We are using a service called E-Giving. 

WHAT IS E-GIVING 

• E-giving is a convenient, safe and secure way to make a offering to St. George's online and automatic if you choose.
• All transactions use 128bit encryption verified through Verisign Corporation and the servers are dedicated strictly to E-Giving sitting behind multiple firewall's. 

WHAT TYPE OF OFFERINGS CAN BE MADE

• A one time offering for a special purpose.
• A scheduled offering 

For more information, click on the word DEMO and select the various viedo demos describing e-giving.

If you are already a member of the growing e-giving family of St. George's, or desire to become one, click HERE or on the e-giving medallion below to make a offering.

Thank you for looking at this web page! May God bless you and keep you richly!