Why We Give
Why Give
Unlike some churches, Niagara Falls Vineyard is not subsidized by regional, national, or international funds. Everything Niagara Falls Vineyard has is paid for with church members' donations. This means rent, utilities, water, coffee creamer, and even this web site are paid for strictly by our church members.
Niagara Falls Vineyard is not begging you for your money. In fact it is preferred that if you don't want to give, that you in fact do not. One thing our church strives for is financial freedom. This means we only want you to give what you can afford, when you want.
Though we stress that we only want heart-felt gifts, we also want you to know that we appreciate any gift you can make. Whether that be as little as $0.50, or as much as 50% of your salary, we know what it means to give. We all work hard for our money and try to make wise investments; we expect no less from those who choose to give to us.
The amount you give is completely up to you. We believe the 10% in the Old Testament is a good guideline of giving that we can use today. Our core leadership has committed itself to give at least 10%, but if you feel you can only give 2% we thank you for that and pray blessings for you.
We believe that by giving to a Christian cause (in this case Niagara Falls Vineyard) God will bless you. See the section Examples of Giving From the Bible. There have also been testimonies in our church, as well as in many others, where giving to God has been a blessing for the giver, not just the receiver of the gift.
Examples of Giving From the Bible
Here is the summary of what we think the verses below mean to our church:
- Tithe should probably be 10% of what you make, but Jesus redeemed us from the letter of the law [Leviticus 27:30-32, Romans 3:21-26]
- Any leadership who receives payment from our church should in turn give 10% back [Numbers 18:24-26]
- Old Testament tithes were done once every 3 years and were to benefit the poor, priests, widows, orphans, aliens (foreigners), and others who could not maintain a livelihood off the land by themselves [Deuteronomy 14:22-29]
- It was the priests (Levites) who collected the tithe to redistribute it as needed, and we should not neglect the house of God [Nehemiah 10:37-39]
- Your tithes and offerings should be done with a pure heart. Don't brag about them; you would be better off not tithing at all. [Amos 4:4-5]
- God will bless us if we give our tithes and offerings [Malachi 3:8-12]
- Ananias and Sapphira: (controversial example of New Testament tithing) [Acts 5:1-10]
- They said they were going to give everything
- They lied in their hearts and to God, giving only a portion of what they had promised
- They were struck down for lying, not for giving too little; a common misconception
- The apostle Paul teaches that we should set aside a sum of money in accordance with our income to be given to the teachers who are traveling through. He also teaches that we should do this weekly. [1 Corinthians 16:1-3]
Where the Money Goes
We have a number of places that our money is allotted. A full report of how we use the money donated to us can be generated upon request. Just contact our financial team though email.
What Our Pastor Says
Pastor James recently gave a message on finances, and what the bible says about giving called Money Back Guarantee. You can see the notes [PDF] and listen [MP3] to it.
How To Give
- Give by writing Niagara Falls Vineyard a check and mailing to our address
- Visit us and place your offering in the offering bowl
- Click the donate button below. It will bring you to a PayPal gateway where you can place donations. You do NOT need a PayPal account to donate, but if you plan on making multiple donations it may be easier for you to have one.
- Use Give Line. While we do not endorse any product in particular that they sell, any purchase you make on their website using our link will have part of the proceeds go to us.
We prefer the first 2 methods since they don't have any overhead costs to us. However, we do realize they have overhead costs to you, so please feel free to use whatever method suits you best. We are sorry but we don't accept donations over the phone at this time.