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, but is that the only time we can and must give? In our case, we pay rent for our place of worship. If we don’t raise enough by Sunday, would it be a sin to raise the money from members during the week? I hope you can help me on this subject. We have misunderstandings at our church on this subject.<\/p>\n\t
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come<\/em>” (I Corinthians 16:1-2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There are several verses that discuss the giving and spending of funds, but this is the only one that mentions when it was done. On the first first day of each week, money was to be put aside (tithime para<\/em>). In other words, contributed to the church. This money was to be stored or put in a treasury (thesaurizo<\/em>), not put in separately but in a group treasury, so that it would not need to be collected when Paul arrived to take, in this case, funds to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
In your case, this planning ahead for future expenses is not being done by the church. Money is needed by a certain time and you are trying to raise it at the last minute, which is why you feel pressure to collect on other days of the week. If the rent is due weekly, then build up a fund that holds a month’s worth of rent. That way, even if a contribution is short one week, there is still time to make up for the shortfall.<\/p>\n
Pledging is asking members to make vows (promises) to contribute a certain amount each week. The problem is that giving becomes a matter of compulsion. “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver<\/em>” (II Corinthians 9:7). A Christian is supposed to plan his giving but it must remain his decision regarding what he is giving and for some Christians, it may vary each week because their income varies. A second problem is that pledging treads close to the boundary about promises: “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment<\/em>” (James 5:12). Giving should not be bound because people were asked to make pledges.<\/p>\n
Generally, pledges are requested because the church leaders want to set plans for future spending; yet, these plans can be made by using the pattern of giving from the recent past. Budgets can be set and after the amount needed is saved, it can be spent. Too often we are influenced by our society’s “buy it now and figure out how to pay for it later” mentality.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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, but is that the only…<\/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":[20],"tags":[157,159],"class_list":["post-46807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-contributions","tag-giving"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3821,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-liberty-in-how-we-give\/","url_meta":{"origin":46807,"position":0},"title":"Is there liberty in how we give?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question concerning worship. Is there liberty when it comes to some parts of worship? For example when it comes to giving, does one have to give during worship service or can someone give any time just long as it\u2019s on a Sunday. Can a congregation decide\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":46807,"position":1},"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":92382,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-be-done-about-contributions-while-traveling\/","url_meta":{"origin":46807,"position":2},"title":"What should be done about contributions while traveling?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello preacher, Our congregation has recently been studying Christian giving, especially from I Corinthians 16. We understand that if a member misses a Sunday service, they should try to make up their contribution the following week. A question has come up: If a brother or sister misses service because\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":35415,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-automatic-withdrawals-for-contributions-biblical\/","url_meta":{"origin":46807,"position":3},"title":"Are automatic withdrawals for contributions biblical?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would you help me understand if automatic withdrawals from your bank account for the first day of the week collection are biblical? Seeing people place money in the tray that is passed around, I think, incites others, especially children. I love seeing a child place some money in the\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":46284,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-handle-my-contributions-when-i-rotate-between-three-congregations\/","url_meta":{"origin":46807,"position":4},"title":"How do I handle my contributions when I rotate between three congregations?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, I have a question regarding the weekly contribution (I Corinthians 16:1-2). In my city, there are three local churches of Christ that I attend regularly. Normally I'll attend one on a certain week, the next on the following week, and the third the week after that. And then\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":23049,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-restoration-of-giving\/","url_meta":{"origin":46807,"position":5},"title":"The Restoration of Giving","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/collection.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}