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- Thread starter Corn Pop
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Corn Pop
Member
Fair enough, I heard some churches have a donation box where people at will can donate in private so I guess thats scriptural.
What about churches that hide there finances yet pass around a collection plate so others can see there giving.
I went to one of them churches once, they made me so embarrassed I had no gift that I pretended to put in a donation and tap the bottom to make coin sounds so it looked like I donated.
What about churches that hide there finances yet pass around a collection plate so others can see there giving.
I went to one of them churches once, they made me so embarrassed I had no gift that I pretended to put in a donation and tap the bottom to make coin sounds so it looked like I donated.
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Mike S
Member
We collect tithes and offerings by passing plates, once during the service. It is then counted and reported to the Financial Secretary who records the donations by name. At the end of every quarter the Financial Secretary sends a giving report to each giver. No one sees how much each giver contributes except the counters and the Financial Secretary, not even the Pastor.
jasonc
Member
The plate passers often are not the ones who deposit the money. I make my money by rote memory in that I must know my routes.If I see your info enough I will know it. Tithes are tax deductable as well are offerings.
People are suppose to give by check 10%.
If you give the expected 10% by check, they give you a legal statement back that you can use with the IRS.
Everyone knows how much you give, probably better than you do.
Everyone knows how much you make as well and they are able to judge you according to your income.
Corn Pop
Member
There registed churches, I guess anyone can see through the system how much a registed church makes and spends like any registed charity and organisation its open to the public. The Benz is under church expenses. Lol.
Do all churches have to be registered and donations submitted to the system?
Do all churches have to be registered and donations submitted to the system?
Obadiah
Member
Most likely if anyone was actually watching you they knew exactly what you did. You would have been better off, not to mention honest, if you had just passed it along. Lots of people do.
As for anonymous giving in a collection plate, there are lots of ways to do that. Any church I've been to that uses collection plates also provides envelopes for you to put your offering into. They have a place for you to put your name and the amount you gave so the church can issue you a statement at the end of the year for tax purposes if you want one. I prefer to give anonymously, so when I went to this type of church I simply put my cash in one of the envelopes and didn't fill it out. If by chance anyone cared to watch, they couldn't see how much or how little I gave, even if the envelope was empty.
As for churches hiding their finances, I've never been part of one that does that and I've never talked to anyone who is part of one that does that. I think you are talking about an exception to the rule here.
I've never been part of or heard of any Christian church that requires anyone to use a check for their donations, and never been part of one that required 10%. I've been told the Mormons require this and actually enforce it, but I don't consider them a Christian church. I don't know where you got this information, but I've sure never heard of this and I'm sure if this is true anywhere it's also an exception to the rule.
Also, every church is required by law to give you a statement of how much you give, no matter how much or how little it is. There is no 10% rule. If you have let them know what you are giving and you ask for a statement they will give it to you even if you only gave 1% or 2%. Since no one is required to give 10% and only 10% there is no way for those who may know what you give to estimate your income from this. Once again, I can't imagine where you are getting this information.
Obadiah
Member
I've never heard the term "registered church". Is this something unique to Australia?
Obadiah
Member
You're talking about a church that is registered as a 501(c)3 corporation in order t be tax exempt. I've never heard of them referred to as "registered" churches so I didn't realize what you were talking about. I was a deacon in charge of finances in a 501(c)3 church for a few years and am not aware of any requirement that they make their finances public any more than anyone else is required to do so.
Mike S
Member
Most regular givers use checks or giving envelopes that identify them. Unaccounted for bills and coins are counted as "loose plate" offerings and not attributed to any individual.
Obadiah
Member
Yeah, that's what the 501(c)3 status does for them. Most churches take advantage of that so they can use their money to further the gospel rather than give it to the government. There are a lot of small churches around me that have owned their property for generations, and the last couple of decades have seen astronomical rises in property values which means astronomical rises in property tax. If these small churches had to pay property tax at today's rates, a lot of them would be forced into bankruptcy. I know some people think every church is rich and every church pastor drives a brand new Mercedes Benz, but that's nothing but made up fantasy based on less than a handful out of the entire nation.
The only way anyone in our church can receive a receipt of their giving is if they give using a check or some other means to identify their gift. There's no way to know whom the cash comes from. As far as hiding the finances, in our church we are actually part of a two church parish with one pastor and we alternate churches each week for the service. After each service there is at least one trustee from each church present when the offering is counted partially because some funds may be dedicated to one of the churches and also as a means of keeping each other honest. We also have a yearly congregational meeting that includes a treasurer's report providing a balance sheet of all money brought in and all money sent out. Prior to this meeting, the council chair and trustees audit the treasurer's report. The countings from the service offerings and the treasurer's report are validated.
I would not be surprised if most notable denominations run things in a similar manner. The problem is people don't actually get involved. They sit in a pew on Sunday and then go home and forget about it the rest of the week and then sit back and complain when things don't go the way they think they should. Being a member of a church and essentially God's Church is taken too lightly. Fellowship should be more than saying hi/goodbye on Sunday morning but should be an on-going relationship both with each other and with God. If the church/council activities are held behind closed doors then I'd be seriously thinking about moving to a new congregation rather than using it as an excuse not to give generously or "forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some." Hebrews 10:25 NKJV
I would not be surprised if most notable denominations run things in a similar manner. The problem is people don't actually get involved. They sit in a pew on Sunday and then go home and forget about it the rest of the week and then sit back and complain when things don't go the way they think they should. Being a member of a church and essentially God's Church is taken too lightly. Fellowship should be more than saying hi/goodbye on Sunday morning but should be an on-going relationship both with each other and with God. If the church/council activities are held behind closed doors then I'd be seriously thinking about moving to a new congregation rather than using it as an excuse not to give generously or "forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some." Hebrews 10:25 NKJV
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jasonc
Member
Some churches as is the case with most in city limits own and rent homes and property.I'm not talking about parsonages.
Corn Pop
Member
I have had a change of heart. I know not all churches take people for a sucker so its unfair to judge as a whole.
The devil will allways do its best to hide the humble church and just show the Mercedes Benz and corrupt doctrine to the world so the non believer holds a grudge and if people do go to Church its some messed up mega church that don't even preach the gospel.
In this day and age its all about hiding and keeping people from the truth. Well I guess it allways has been.
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Cygnus
Member
I kinda see it this way....God judges your motivation. If you give so others see you give, it doesn't count and will be burnt up.
1st Cor 3:12If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13hisworkmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.
What if for some reason, you went to the local mega-church so you could see it for yourself first hand.
And then you came away liking it.
What would happen then?
I ask this because it's exactly what happened to me.
I could spend hours telling you all the wrong things about this big church.
But I could spend even more hours telling you all about the good things.