Cara talks about her work with the Hope Program and how she's had to trust in God's provision in her own life and in the lives of the children she works with.
Scripture is not prescriptive as to whether the local church should be the sole beneficiary of our tithes. To the extent that the work of The Austin Stone accomplishes the Biblical purposes of the church as “the hope of the world” (Matt 5:14), we would hope that we are a place where you could, in good conscience, give your tithe and offerings for the purposes of the church in redeeming our community and the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Of our partners, we do ask that their entire tithe be given to The Austin Stone because we view partnership as a commitment to be fully dedicated and invested in our mission as a church, both in time and resources. We desire to see every Christian be a part of a church that they believe in so much that they would want to give their entire tithe and even beyond to support the mission that God has placed upon their local body.
Dr. John Piper has some great thoughts on this issue:
There's no clear biblical mandate that your generosity has to be in a certain proportion to your church and to other ministries.
As a pastor, if somebody came to me and said, "I'd like to tithe. Where should I give it?" I would say, "Well, I think it's a helpful rule of thumb to say that, considering that this is your family of believers with its own set of needs and that you benefit from the church and give your life to it, starting with a tithe here is a good idea. And from there you can give more here and more elsewhere." But I would never say, "You must give your tithe to this church." I just don't find it in the Bible. I can't put biblical texts behind it.
When we think about what churches need in order to survive and flourish, I think they need, roughly, a tenth of what their people have, and more. You can feel free to go beyond.
As for me, I give almost everything to the church. I feel so utterly indebted here and thankful here that what I give is almost all here. And then there are the little things I do. Little things at the door or for Prolife causes. I'm writing little checks here and there all the time. But the substance of my giving is at the local church.
I would encourage someone to think through with a pastor what a good basis for giving at the church would be, and then encourage them to lavish everywhere else too. [Ask Pastor John]
For people seeking to re-establishing trust in the area of church and money, we’ll be glad to walk through our budget line items with you by appointment.