What is "Giving"?
Most of us are familiar with the concept of giving to charities. Like many charities, Trinity relies on people's giving to enable the running of the church, our mission to make Jesus known, and our services to bless our community - we receive no funds from outside the church. We do not expect or require anyone to give to Trinity in order to attend our services or to benefit from what we do, especially if you are just visiting us or trying us out. But we do believe that Jesus encourages his followers to give generously to the work of their local church. We do this, not to gain God's favour, but to say 'thank you' to him for all he has already done for us, and as a way of telling him that we love him.
In the Old Testament of the Bible (written before Jesus' life on earth), God's people were required to tithe (give a proportion of their income, usually a tenth). In the New Testament (written after Jesus' life here), there is no specific requirement on how much people should give; believers are simply encouraged to give as generously as they can out of what they have at their disposal. But, in general, we beliebe that Jesus' followers should seek to be at least as generous as required of God's people before Jesus, since we have even more to be thankful for than they had. Hence, we encourage anyone who calls Trinity their church-home, to give regularly to the church to help us to share the love of Jesus in word and deed.
You may not feel like you're able to give a tenth straight away, and that's ok. It's about where your heart is, and in conversation with God. Why not pray about it, and see what God is asking of you, if you're thinking about giving regularly for the first time?
It's always a good idea to check your heart and your finances regularly, an you may find that you can increase your giving as your life circumstances change. God is a kind Father, and often when we challenge ourselves and step out (especially when it comes to finances) we start to see God doing incredible things in our lives, sometimes including financial provision! It is not that we give to receive from God, but he often blesses us when we do give because he is a kind and generous God.
How to Give
You can use this easy form here, to give a one off donation, or start a regular monthly donation:
And don’t forget if you’re a UK Tax Payer, we can claim gift aid on your donations at no extra cost to you! Please complete this form as well if you would like us to reclaim gift aid on your gift.
If you’d like to chat more about giving, why we do it and how you can take that first step, we’d love to discuss it with you. Get in touch!