Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.<\/em>” In\u00a0Acts 4:32-37\u00a0the church at Jerusalem practiced sacrificial giving in its hour of great need.<\/p>\nNote that the passages show that contributions were commanded. Paul says that his words were an order of a command. God cared enough about their financial processes to specify a certain way to do it. When an authority specifies a certain way, that command excludes doing it any other way unless that other way is authorized elsewhere. No other commands are given about congregational fundraising so anyone who wants to go back to the New Testament pattern today should expect to have a contribution but should expect to stop there.<\/p>\n
The contributions were specified for the first day of the week. The laying by in store was not laying some money by at home because then there would have to be collections made when Paul came. The contributions were to be given upon the first day of every week.<\/p>\n
That is why churches that are determined to follow the New Testament pattern do not take up collections every night during a gospel meeting or on Wednesday evening. I’m sure that many could use the money well but a continual emphasis on money is finally distracting to their spiritual purpose of saving souls. When churches continually stress money they begin to look like pagan religions where salvation and redemption are purchased with one’s silver and gold (I Peter 1:18).<\/p>\n
Occasionally, congregations depart from this pattern because of needs that are “special” purposes to them. An institution or a “missionary” wants a special collection, the pattern is bent and an unscriptural precedent is set as the congregation takes up a “special” Wednesday night contribution.<\/p>\n
Paul also specified that the contributions were to be given freely and cheerfully. Churches that use high pressure to squeeze more money out of people than they are willing to cheerfully purpose in their heart and give are violating the original plan. They show little concern in restoring the first-century pattern for fundraising.<\/p>\n
If we restore the New Testament pattern of giving we are going to have to teach commitment of ourselves to God (II Corinthians 8:5). We are also going to have to teach on giving and encourage brethren to give liberally (II Corinthians 9:13). Yet that is different from a constant emphasis on church budgets, needs, and financial matters.<\/p>\n
If New Testament churches are to support themselves by the contributions of their own members, that excludes them from door to door solicitations or street corner appeals. A church that is seeking to restore the first-century practice will not allow itself to be drawn into sales and find raising promotions. It will not be drawn into apartment management or farm management by keeping farms or apartments that might be given to it.<\/p>\n
If you appreciate the simplicity of the contribution practices of Paul and Peter and the rest of the apostles, and the congregation where you attend doesn’t follow those, then there are probably other areas where they have departed also and you need to give thorough consideration to all of their practices, examining them and comparing them to the original pattern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Harold V. Comer via Gospel Power, Vol. 14, No. 48, Dec. 2, 2007. This is a day of religious fundraising and money promotions. With all of the emphasis on pressure and gimmicks, there is a great need to restore the New Testament pattern of giving. The first-century practice would correct many of the abuses…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[157,159],"class_list":["post-23049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-contributions","tag-giving"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":92036,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/following-gods-plan\/","url_meta":{"origin":23049,"position":0},"title":"Following God’s Plan","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Following the pattern of authority in the Bible isn't hard; individuals and churches just need to make up their minds to do it. That means doing things that might run counter to what we've always believed. For instance, raising money for the local church using methods other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46807,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-contributions-be-done-through-pledges\/","url_meta":{"origin":23049,"position":1},"title":"Can contributions be done through pledges?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is pledging wrong, as a way of giving? That is, asking members how much they are willing to put forward for a certain project. They specify an amount, which is then collected at the right time. We must give on the first day of the week, that is set,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-special-contributions-scriptural\/","url_meta":{"origin":23049,"position":2},"title":"Are special contributions scriptural?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Concerning collections: is it a good practice supported by Scripture to set aside \"Special Giving Days\" for specific purposes on the first day of the week in addition to the regular collection? This practice seems to contradict what a treasury is for in the work of the church. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90355,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-restrictive-nature-of-submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":23049,"position":3},"title":"The Restrictive Nature of Submission","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Submitting to the authority of God's will is not only serious business, it's also very restrictive.\u00a0Because of its very nature, those who submit to authority can only operate within its bounds. What passes for Christianity in America, and across the world, really isn't because it goes beyond\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62367,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sponsoring-church-arrangement-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":23049,"position":4},"title":"The Sponsoring Church Arrangement (Jennings)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ethan Jennings Not long after World War 2, members of the Lord's church decided they wanted to take the gospel overseas to the countries with whom we had been at war. This was a good attitude to have. Especially since we are supposed to spread the gospel to everyone.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70114,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-restoration-movement\/","url_meta":{"origin":23049,"position":5},"title":"The Restoration Movement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor via\u00a0Unmasking Sophistry, Vol 4. No. 4, October-December 2024 Earlier in this series, we discussed the Reformation Movement. This movement set out to reform the Roman Catholic Church to correct the errors and abuses that had developed over the centuries. 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This is a day of religious fundraising and money promotions. With all of the emphasis on pressure and gimmicks, there is a great need to restore the New Testament pattern of giving. The first-century practice would correct many of the abuses that have become so obvious and distasteful in religious groups today.<\/p>\n