Give / What We Believe
What we believe
About Giving
Giving is a response of faith.
We believe God owns everything and needs nothing. He generously and graciously provides for all people. As our good Father, He also gives good gifts to His children. We recognize that everything we have in life comes from Him and we are only stewards, entrusted by God to manage what He has given us. As stewards, He has given us the opportunity to use our resources for Him. We believe that giving reflects our understanding of Who He is and who we are. (Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50:10-12; I Timothy 6:7; James 1:17)
Giving is a means of protection.
The Bible warns against the corrupting influence of the love of money. Jesus states clearly that we cannot serve both God and money. God wants to protect us from a life of worry, temptation, and ultimately, frustration. When we embrace generosity, we move toward the freedom God wants us to experience in life. Generosity helps us keep from making money the center of our lives and allows us to use it as the tool God designed it to be. (Luke 16:13; Matthew 6:31-33; I Timothy 6:10)
Giving is an act of obedience.
We believe that the Bible commands us to give regularly, and even generously, to God. This should not be an act of compulsion, but should be based on a desire at a heart level to be part of what God is doing through His church. The practice of tithing (the first 10 percent of income going into God’s work) is seen in Genesis (Abraham and Jacob); taught in the law (Moses); emphasized in Israel (Malachi); and affirmed by Jesus. While we believe this practice is a helpful guide for understanding giving in the Bible, we do not believe that tithing is commanded in the New Testament. The journey to generosity is not measured by percentage, but should be one of growing sacrificial giving to God. All of us should desire to grow in our giving as we would grow in any act of obedience as a follower of Christ. (Genesis 14:18-20; Deuteronomy 26:1-2; Malachi 3:8-10; II Corinthians 9:6-7; I Timothy 6:17-19; II Corinthians 8:7-9)
We have a responsibility to support the local church.
While we encourage giving to ministries and partners outside of the church, we believe everyone in a church family should share in the responsibility of supporting the local church. In the Old Testament, the people of God gave their first tithe to support the work of the temple and priests. The same principles are emphasized in the New Testament along with explicit commands to support those who serve in the church. Ultimately, our gratitude for how God is using the church in our lives and the vision for how God is reaching the world through the church should be matched by our desire to be a part of it through our giving. (I Corinthians 9:7-11; Galatians 6:6; I Timothy 5:17-18)
Giving leads to God’s blessing.
Scripture clearly teaches that God blesses those who give. We experience the spiritual blessing of learning to trust God more and grow in our faith. We experience the emotional blessing of allowing God to teach us to depend on Him and learn what it means to be free from the worry of money. We experience the eternal blessing of investing in rewards that will truly last and have impact. We can even experience, at times, financial blessing as God knows we can be trusted to use our resources for His kingdom. While giving is never a means of forcing God’s blessing, nor do we ever give to get, we see in Scripture that God loves to bless those who are generous for His kingdom. (Acts 20:35b; Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 6:38; Proverbs 11:24)
Giving at Venture
Still Have Questions?
Trusting an organization with your money is a big deal. Answers to many common questions can be found in our FAQs, or you can contact us.