These stages focus on behaviors and attitudes of our hearts—our discipleship—rather than on amounts or percentages. Each step represents growth in a lifestyle of generosity and sacrifice that transforms us into the likeness of Christ who gave up everything for us.
01 / Initial Giver
An Initial Giver is someone who decides to give for the first time, out of a response to God’s Word about giving. This is someone who decides to give something and trust God and the leaders of the church with this gift.
02 / Consistent Giver
A Consistent Giver is someone who commits to give something on a regular basis. Consistent Givers start to think of their giving in the same way they think about other budget expenses that are always paid, regardless of seasons of plenty or want. They often set up an online recurring gift to help cement this important habit.
03 / Intentional Giver
Intentional Givers think about giving in relation to other things they spend their money on. For example,“Why do I give the internet or cell phone provider more money than I give to God?” They consider a percentage or amount they want to commit to in order to consciously grow in their generosity. Intentional Givers look at their budget and consider how their giving reflects their view of God and commitment to God’s work in the world. This may also be the point when someone begins to dedicate a percentage of their salary (such as 10%) to the mission.
04 / Surrendered Giver
A Surrendered Giver is someone who is surrendered to honoring God with 100% of their resources. A Surrendered Giver gives in a way that changes them. Their giving governs their spending/saving rather than their spending/saving governing their giving. A Surrendered Giver isn’t concerned with what they are giving but more concerned with what they’re not giving and why. They seek to honor God with 100% of what he has given them, whether direct monetary giving or a God-honoring use of time or an existing resource like a home or a vehicle.
05 / Lifetime Giver
A Lifetime Giver is someone who thinks about the long-term effects of generosity rather than month-to-month, or even year-to- year, generosity. A Lifetime Giver makes decisions in the short-term that have longer-term effects as it relates to their generosity capacity. They think of what home they buy and how God can use it, what car they purchase, and how much savings they choose to keep, all in relation to their generosity capacity. A Lifetime Giver might be someone who has a lifetime giving goal that drives their business and larger-ticket decisions. Much like a Surrendered Giver makes a commitment that governs monthly and annual decisions, a Lifetime Giver makes lifetime and legacy giving commitments.
Creative Ways to Grow in Your Generosity
Generosity Initiatives like Bigger Than Us are successful when the people of Village Church make gift commitments that expand and accelerate their current level of giving. The best path to increased giving is the spiritual path, where we all set our hearts on things not of this world. Financial priorities then take shape from spiritual priorities.
One way of defining this is Lifestyle Stewardship, a term used to describe a level of giving that affects our living. The challenge of Lifestyle Stewardship is to find ways, boldly and prayerfully, to expand our giving. Each of us has different resources and abilities, which is why the phrase “equal sacrifice, not equal giving” rings true.
King David declared, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24) David understood the gift that would touch the heart of God must first touch the heart of the giver. This is the spirit of Lifestyle Stewardship: if it is for my God, my gift must have value and meaning to me.
Often, Lifestyle Giving means sacrificing something in one area to give more of yourself in another. The three keys to effectiveness in Lifestyle Stewardship are:
- Reassess lifestyle
- Rearrange priorities
- Reallocate resources
Many believers have been amazed at their ability to give more generously than they ever thought possible by engaging in the following practices.
01 / Practice Priority Budgeting
Many people choose to rearrange their priorities and give up something in their current budget to give more to a generosity initiative. This may mean postponing a planned expenditure such as a new car, vacation, home remodel, or other major purchase. Many people find ways to give through sacrificial commitments made in faith and coupled with priority budgeting.
02 / Redirect Present Expenditures
Often there are significant short-term expenditures for particular needs. One example is the large expense a family incurs for a child to attend university or college. One family realized their daughters would be graduating from college during the two years of the generosity initiative, and as a result, they were able to increase their commitment to the second year of the initiative by thousands of dollars because they redirected what they had been spending on their daughters’ tuition. Another example is the cash flow that is freed up when a car or home loan is paid off.
03 / Increase Giving When Income Increases
Some people receive periodic increases in salary or bonuses from their employers. The temptation for many of us is to increase our lifestyle to fit the higher income. In many instances, people have decided that they will commit the full amount of salary increases to their church’s generosity initiative.
04 / Give From Your Excess
A young man decided that two collectors’ baseball cards worth over $20,000 he had been holding for a number of years would be the most appropriate means of sacrifice for him. Some families save money over a period of years for a special project. One couple had saved $80,000 to build a lake cabin. When their church entered a generosity initiative, they decided the needs of the church were greater than their need for a second home.
05 / Commit Unexpected Cash
Often, people pray for God to show them a way they can give beyond what they can presently see or afford. Sometimes, the answers come unexpectedly. A couple had been praying for weeks about their commitment to the church generosity initiative. Much to their surprise, they received an inheritance of several thousand dollars. They gave the entire amount to their church as part of their two-year commitment, in addition to a commitment from their regular income.
06 / Sacrifice Your Extra Time
Some people have extra time they would be willing to use in a part- or full-time job to be able to give more to the church. One man was in the process of retiring when his church entered a campaign—he decided to postpone retirement by one year and committed his entire salary that year to the giving initiative.
07 / Donate Appreciated Assets (Stored Resources)
Many people own stocks (securities, shares, bonds, mutual funds, etc.) that are worth significantly more than the original purchase price. That is good news. The bad news is that if these stocks are sold, a significant portion of the gain would be lost to taxation. In most cases, this kind of donation to Village Church greatly reduces or eliminates the net tax owing as it relates to capital gains. Your financial advisor or accountant can confirm the details for your specific situation.