What is Generosity and Why Do We Participate in It?

Generosity is one of the ways we learn to trust God and become more like Jesus.

God has been incredibly generous toward us. Everything we have is a gift from Him, and when we give, we have an opportunity to respond to His generosity and participate in what He is doing through His Church.

Generosity is an act of trust.

Jesus talked often about money because He cares about our hearts. He taught that where our treasure is, our heart will follow.

Giving is one way we choose to trust God with what He has placed in our hands. It reminds us that He is our provider and helps us hold what we have with open hands.

Generosity isn’t about pressure or obligation. It’s an invitation to trust Jesus and allow Him to shape every part of our lives—including our finances.

We give because God gave first.

Everything begins with God’s generosity toward us. He gives us grace we could never earn, forgiveness we don’t deserve, and ultimately gave us Jesus. Our generosity is simply a response to His. For those who call Presence Church home, giving is one of the ways we contribute to what God is doing through our church and beyond it. As we give our time, talents, and finances, we get to participate in building His Kingdom together.

Where does my money go?

Generosity given through Presence Church supports the work God is doing through our local church and the larger church around the world. It helps create environments where people can experience the presence of God, build meaningful relationships, invest in the next generation, care for our community in practical ways, and participate in Kingdom work beyond our church. When you give, you’re helping create opportunities for more people to experience Jesus and take their next step with Him.

The Theology of Generosity

There are two main orthodox (accepted) views of generosity in the church. The first is the more common form you’ve probably seen which is called tithing. This view holds that Jesus affirms and strengthens the Old Testament principle of giving back to God the first ten percent of what he gives to each of us.

The second view sometimes referred to as grace giving suggests that Jesus doesn’t strengthen the tithe as a principle, but rather taught that the heart matters more. Rather than giving ten percent as a rule, each person should decide in partnership with the Holy Spirit how much they should give. This view would argue that the Apostle Paul confirms this later in the New Testament when he talks about how God loves a cheerful giver.

So which one is right? One of our top priorities as a church is unity. What that looks like lived out is that we choose to not make unnecessary distinctions or choose sides on theological or social issues that are not directly outlined for us in scripture, affirmed by the church, or questions of salvation. That means that there will be people in our church on both sides of the spectrum and even in between. We think that’s great!

However, as we allow for differences in the way we go about generosity, we believe with full conviction that every person that follows Jesus is called to give and give generously. Jesus modeled generosity for us by giving his life for us. He now calls us to practice radical generosity in love of others and to serve his church. For those that call Presence Church home, we invite you to step into your journey of generosity by tapping the button below.

If you have any questions our team would love to chat with you. Please reach out by tapping the button!