Money is a hot topic in our day. People don’t like to be told what to do with their money. For a lot of people, it’s their biggest idol. The Bible speaks about money a lot so it’s our job to look at Scripture, and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, allow it to teach us about this issue. Below are two common questions we get regarding money and stewardship at Mars Hill Church.
‘Why is it important to give to the church vs. another nonprofit?’
Giving to other nonprofits is a great thing. That said, we believe Christians are called first to give to the local church that proclaims the gospel in the local community. Jesus promised, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Jesus came to found, build, and head the church, and his metaphorical body to continue his evangelistic plan for the world. In the same way, Jesus’ people are to give themselves to the church. This includes service and generosity as Jesus demonstrated (2 Cor. 8–9) so that not only can local churches grow, but also more churches can be planted, more people reached, and more nations changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
At Mars Hill Church, we are focused on making disciples and planting churches. We’ve seen thousands of people meet Jesus in the past couple years. A lot of the things we’ve done couldn’t have been accomplished without Jesus working through generous people who love his mission.
When you give to Mars Hill Church, it goes to churches being planted, pastors’ and leaders’ salaries, books published, Bibles given away, and sermons and music given away for free. In addition, we have Redemption Groups and Community Groups to help people work through sin and suffering in their lives. There’s a lot we do, and it takes money to accomplish what God has called us to.
In Ephesians 5:25 Paul writes, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Jesus’ heart for and commitment to the church should compel us to love and serve the church as well, and this commitment should be reflected in our giving.
So while giving toward parachurch ministries and nonprofits is a good thing, as a church, we believe this should be done above and beyond regular and cheerful giving toward your local church.
‘Why does Mars Hill talk about money so much?’
Quite simply, we do because Jesus did. Jesus devoted roughly 25 percent of his words in the Gospels to the resources God has entrusted to our stewardship. This includes some 28 passages in the Gospels. In the Old and New Testaments combined there are over 800 verses on the subject, addressing topics ranging from planning and budgeting, to saving and investing, to debt and tithing. Furthermore, money and wealth and possessions are among the greatest idols in our culture, and there is simply no way to be a disciple of Jesus apart from learning to worship God with stewardship.
Jesus stressed that we either worship our wealth, or we worship with our wealth. In Matthew 6:24 he said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
This is our second post in Stewardship FAQs: What Mars Hill Believes about Money. Last week in his first post, he answered the question “What does Mars Hill Church believe about tithing?” Stay tuned the next couple Saturdays for more blog posts in this four-part mini-series.
