A website made for giving

With an answer to many of your questions about tithing .

What is Generous Giving?
Generous Giving is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to motivate followers of Jesus Christ toward greater biblical generosity. It was launched in 2000 by The Maclellan Foundation, a recognized leader in Christian grant-making for 50 years. We envision the hearts and minds of God’s people transformed for revolutionary generosity. Generous Giving is privately funded. We do not solicit donations, allow solicitation at our events, or award grants.

Is Generous Giving trying to do the work of the institutional church?
No. While Generous Giving is an independent nonprofit ministry that is not affiliated with any specific church or denomination, we exist alongside of and for the sake of the institutional church. Generous Giving is a para-church ministry, i.e. a group of Christians gathering to specialize in some biblical task for which the local church presently has insufficient resources (money, staff, knowledge, zeal or otherwise).

Why was Generous Giving started?

As we enter the 21st century, we are witnessing the confluence of two sweeping currents: (1) the unprecedented accumulation of evangelical Christian wealth in America and (2) the unparalleled opportunity for the growth of the Church around the world. Yet giving by Christians today is comparatively lower than during the Great Depression—a meager 2.6 percent (as opposed to 3.3 percent in 1933), not even the equivalent of the Old Testament’s minimal 10 percent mandate, the tithe. By reminding givers of all income levels—as well as pastors and teachers, ministry leaders and professional advisors—that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), we are trusting God for the release of billions of dollars over the next few years for the cause of Christ.

 

The following questions about tithing are answered in Generous Giving's Frequently Asked Questions on Wealth, Giving & Tithing.  The links will take you away from this website.  Please visit us again.

Tithing

  1. What is the tithe?
  2. Where did the idea of a Christian tithe come from?
  3. Does the tithe apply to us today, or was it just for Old Testament Israel?
  4. Does God expect more than a tithe from me?
  5. Should I tithe from my take-home pay or my gross income?
  6. Should I tithe from my income or my net worth?
  7. Should my full tithe go to my local church, or may I split it with other Christian ministries?
  8. Can a portion of my tithe go toward secular charities?
  9. I recently received an inheritance from a relative. Is it OK to divide the tithe from this inheritance among several churches that he loved?
  10. Do I have to give my tithe to the church? Can’t I just give directly to a needy family instead?
  11. Isn’t tithing a form of legalism—which Jesus and Paul condemned?
  12. Can my kids’ Christian school tuition count toward my tithe?