I do need some advice concerning donations. We are working with our community by giving away clothes, books, etc.. that are in fairly good condition to those who are in need. We do not require any money from them to purchase it, but I was wondering if they are willing to give a donation to the church would it be wrong to accept this. Based on the fact that collections are on the first day of the week as what God requires. Just wanted to get some thoughts. We are however continuing with the free market, but we are not accepting donations.<\/p>\n\t
I believe that a part of your difficulty stems from mixing commands given to individual Christians with those given to the church. There is a difference. See I Timothy 5:1-16 for one example. “If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows<\/em>” (I Timothy 5:16). Thus, when you look at commands, you must examine them to see if this was a command to an individual to perform because he is a Christian or is it given to the church to be performed as a group.<\/p>\n In the area of benevolence, if you list out each command, you soon see a pattern. Churches used their funds to support the spreading of the Gospel and to help needy saints in times of disaster (II Corinthians 8-9). Individual Christians are given a broader command to do good as they have an opportunity (Galatians 6:9-10; James 1:27). Because of this, I would urge Christians who want to do community service to do it as Christians and not in the name of the local church. A Christian ought not to off-load a command given to him onto the church and then somehow think he is fulfilling his duty to the Lord.<\/p>\n Members of a local congregation are expected to voluntarily give a portion of their prosperity to aid the congregation in its work. An example of this is found in I Corinthians 16:1-2, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.<\/em>” Though the amount is voluntary, notice that the fact that contributions are collected is by a command (Paul had “given orders”). These collections are to take place on the first day of each week and held in a treasury until used.<\/p>\n While this is expected of members of a congregation, it should not be sought from non-members. Every once in a while, La Vista receives a gift from someone not connected with the congregation. Where we are able, we will contact the giver to explain that such gifts are not being sought. But if the giver insists, we will add it to the funds so long as no strings are attached. For example, we will refuse a gift where someone states “I want you to use this to plant a tree on the church property in memory of my father.” It would not be right for an individual to dictate to the church how its money is spent (Acts 5:4), let alone taking direction from a non-member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I do need some advice concerning donations. We are working with our community by giving away clothes, books, etc.. that are in fairly good condition to those who are in need. We do not require any money from them to purchase it, but I was wondering if they are willing to give a donation…<\/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],"class_list":["post-9553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-contributions"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29230,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-for-an-institution-to-ask-for-donations\/","url_meta":{"origin":9553,"position":0},"title":"Is it wrong for an institution to ask for donations?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, Is it okay for organizations such as GBN TV to ask for donations publicly? Is anything wrong with this? This organization is run by members of the Lord's church. I do not think anything is wrong with this, but I do think it would be wrong if 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":58980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/racketeering\/","url_meta":{"origin":9553,"position":1},"title":"Racketeering","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by R.L.Whiteside via. The Bible Banner, 1946 It seems that about every line of human activity is cursed with racketeers. If people were not so gullible, common racketeers could not work their schemes. Racketeering was at first a scheme to obtain money or other advantages by threats of damage to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/02\/ganster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":92681,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-children-be-bringing-food-donations-to-the-front-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":9553,"position":2},"title":"Should children be bringing food donations to the front of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am hoping you can help us with some insight into a situation happening in our local body. During the worship service, during the time of offering, the children of the congregation are invited to come up and donate food items to the church's pantry. Many members of\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":67833,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-non-believers-contribute-to-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":9553,"position":3},"title":"Can non-believers contribute to the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We recently discussed donations in the church, and I was wondering if you could provide any scriptural basis for them. Can a non-member or unbeliever donate money to the church? Can the church use that donation from him or her? Thanks! Answer: While the topic is not specifically addressed\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":41761,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-accepting-donations-for-teaching-on-the-internet\/","url_meta":{"origin":9553,"position":4},"title":"What do you think about accepting donations for teaching on the Internet?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm a student and also preach the gospel when given the opportunity. I read your site often and I trust you to give the truth in a time when I sometimes feel that many congregations are straying from the original New Testament form. That is why I am\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":2044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-should-aid-be-sent-to-members-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":9553,"position":5},"title":"How should aid be sent to members of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How should aid be sent help disaster victims who are members of the church? I received the following letter [edited] and I don't know how to respond. Dear Brethren, I would like to offer a unique opportunity to you and your respective congregations. 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