FAQs about Giving
Our Approach to Financial Stewardship
The three basic realities we live with are:
- Most (sane) people have a discomfort or distrust towards an over-emphasis on money.
- Jesus never took an offering, but He talked about money a lot in His teaching.
- It takes money to do things in this world!
The Number One Central Principle of Stewardship: God owns everything! Our lives, our stuff, our time, our sexuality, our jobs, our abilities, the world; He owns it all. 1 Corinthians 4:7 asks, "What do you have that you did not receive?"
The Number Two Central Principle: A faithful Christ-follower is someone who recognizes principle #1 in every area of their lives. "Jesus is Lord" is the oldest creed of the Christian church and has huge lifestyle implications.
Moving from Duty to Delight: A faithful Christ-follower is someone who makes a basic shift in their heart (or God does), from giving out of the wrong reasons to giving for the right reasons.
Moving from Short-term to Long-term Investments: A Christ follower is someone is understands the power of money as a god (Matt. 6:24) and desires to invest in what is permanent rather than what is temporary.
The De-legalized Tithe Principle: Giving 10% of all income is the Bible’s normal way we say that principle #1 is true in our lives. However, we are not to make this into a legal requirement, nor see it as a cap or ceiling on giving.
The Accountability Principle: We have a number of things we do to ensure integrity, including:
1. The congregation passes the annual budget or what we call the Mission Action Plan.
2. A financial review team is in place to look for any irregularities.
3. Periodically an external audit is performed.
4. You can find out any information, any time you want.
5. At year end, you have access to your personal and confidential record of giving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I tithe off my gross earnings or the net amount of my paycheck?
The most common approach is to tithe based on gross earnings with gross earnings considered the amount of God's provision. Scripture does not necessarily use the literal terms "net" or "gross," but instead focuses on the heart and spirit with which we give as what God cares about most. 2 Cor. 9:7 says that "each should give what he/she has decided in his/her heart to give; not reluctantly or under compulsion, but God loves a cheerful giver."
Does CCC commit a portion of its resources to mission outside the walls of the church?
Community Covenant Church is committed to mission outside its walls whether it be right here in our own community, throughout the broader State of Alaska, or in other parts of the world. For this reason CCC maintains a goal of investing at least 15% of its Mission Action Plan (annual budget) each year to God's mission outside the walls of CCC. Combining this budgeted giving with additional special offerings throughout the year, CCC invests between 18 to 20% of its financial resources in God's mission in the community, in Alaska or around the globe.
Can I designate a gift for a specific ministry?
Each of the Community Covenant Church ministries operates within the annual budget or what we call the Mission Action Plan(MAP) which is reviewed and approved by the congregation each year. This is our General Fund giving. Therefore we do not encourage ministry-specific gifts other than those few opportunities we may make available during the year. However, we understand that God leads people to give over and above their regular tithes. So we do allow gifts to be designated to Community Cares Fund which is used to meet tangible needs of people in our church and in our broader community. We also periodically invite a special offering for a mission team or project, but these are rare.
Is financial information about CCC available to members of the congregation?
Yes! Each month the basic financial summary is available in our e-newsletter which is also archived on our website. You can also contact the church office at 696.5229 if you wish to have more detailed financial information.