How To Collect Tithes And Offerings Properly

By Pastor Boniface Amani Gichina 

Let all things be done decently and in order – I Corinthians 14:40

Pastors and other ministers of the Gospel must consistently and strategically teach their congregation about tithing and offering. Minister who do not teach their congregation on this important and powerful mysteries in the body of Christ, are failing both God who have appointed them and the congregation which God has entrusted to them.

One of the major functions of a minister of the gospel is to feed people with knowledge and understanding.

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding -Jeremiah 3:15

People serve God better when they do it with understanding.

I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies (laws) – Psalms 119:125

Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart – Psalms 119:34

Minister of the Gospel must feed their flock with fresh understanding to help them serve God better and to keep them from failures and crisis financially, socially and spiritually.

The book of proverbs gives us a insight of what happens when we lack wisdom.

The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead – Proverbs 21:16

Let the ministers stop blaming their flock when they don’t pay their tithes or give their offerings regularly as expected. Let the ministers start interrogating themselves to see whether they are teaching their congregations properly and Biblically.

It is also to remind both the ministers and the readers that paying of tithes and giving offerings must be done from a willing heart. Never try to conjure or compel people to give.

Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass – Exodus 35:5

God loves a cheerful giver.

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver – 2 Corinthians 9:7

In view of this, I wish to propose the following to all ministers of the gospel

1.     Teach on the benefits and the power of tithes and offerings regularly

And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do – Exodus 18:20

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also – 2 Timothy 2:2

2.     Lead by example. Set a righteous example by paying your tithes honestly and on time. Let your other personal offerings be “honourable” both in value and in presentation.

King David gave us a good example.

Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house. Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal: The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers..- I Chronicles 29:3 – 5.

The same King David said he can give God  an offering which does not cost him.

And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver – 2 Samuel 24:24

3.      Never climb the alter to collect offering without your own offering in your hand. Asking people to give when you are not giving yourself is mockery of the whole exercise. Note also that your own blessings will depend on what you have given yourself and not what your congregation gives.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap – Galatians 6:7

4.     Read or quote relevant scriptures that support the offering you are collecting. The Word of God is the voice of God. It is powerful and able to convict the people to give their tithes and offerings with understanding.

The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty – Psalms 29:4

I have included a few scriptures below to help the reader appreciate the use of scriptures while taking offerings.

5.     Let collection be done decently and orderly. We serve a decent and orderly God, and therefore we must serve Him decently and orderly.

Let all things be done decently and in order – I Corinthians 14:40