What Do We Believe? StewardshipWe believe that God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possession. They are, therefore, under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possession and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth.Christian stewardship is the responsible employment under God of one's life, talents, time, and material substance in the proclamation of the gospel and in Christian service. In the sharing of the gospel, stewardship finds its highest meaning. Stewardship is based on the acknowledgment that all we are and have comes from God as a sacred trust. We believe that according to God's Word, He promised to bless us for our giving. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye meet withal it shall be measured to you again." St. Luke 6:38. "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vines cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts." Malachi 3:10-11. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19. "God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent; hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Numbers 23:19. All through the Word of God, He teaches us that if we will give to the outreaches of the kingdom of God, He will bless us. If we give to any church that is preaching the gospel of Christ, and winning lost souls and doing the work that God commissioned the church to do, He will bless us financially. Many times, the reason that people do not receive financial blessings from God is because they don't do it God's way. Sometimes, men get the idea that if God will give to them, then they will give to God. But that's not what the Word of God says to do. In order to receive His financial blessings, we must do it God's way. God says for us to give first, then it will be given unto us. (St. Luke 6:38). He said, "...Seek ye first the Kingdom of God...and all these things shall be added unto you." St. Matt 6:33. God is a jealous God. Throughout the Bible, He always insists on being first in the lives of men. By failing to do according to the Word of God for stewardship, we hinder the divine plan of God for our lives. Material possessions in themselves are neither good nor evil. The love of money rather than money itself is the root of all kinds of evil. In Christian stewardship, money becomes the means to spiritual ends both for the one who gives and for those who receive. Accepted as a sacred trust, money becomes not a threat but an opportunity. Jesus was concerned that man be free from the tyranny of material things and that man use material things to serve his own needs and the needs of others. The responsibility of stewardship applies not only to the individual Christian but also to the church. What is entrusted should be spent wisely in the service of mankind and to the glory of God. Christian stewardship conceives the whole of life as a sacred trust from God and requires the responsible use of life, time, talents and substance, personal and corporate, in the service of Christ. A steward is not something a Christian chooses to become. Every Christian is a steward of the Lord God Almighty but each must choose if they are to be a good steward under God. (I Peter 4:10)
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