One final word: you should pray diligently to God for where your tithe should go.
I personally believe that for most everyone it should go to those who are responsible for your growth in the Kingdom. Those pouring into your life spiritually must be supported financially. For most people, that is your local church. They are also the best at distributing your gift to the community. You should give additional offerings directly to areas of need that you see fit.
Not only does your local church know the local needs (or should), but by giving this to someone else to distribute, you are truly giving it to God. If your entire tithe goes to a pet project that you are fanatical about, then I think the line begins to blur between tithing and discretionary spending. This is not a biblical mandate. Feel free to disagree. If you have been scarred by the idea of giving to a church for some reason, then I would say give it somewhere else rather then not giving at all. There are many ministries desperate for this help.
If you give to your local church, you should be aware of what your church does with its funds. You don’t need to count every penny, but you are responsible to whom you give the money to. Why would you want to give to a church that is only in the business of building big buildings for itself? Buildings are important to equip the Body, so I’m not saying that’s bad, but I believe a church congregation should be actively contributing to the community that it’s in and to the world at large. I believe that if your church does not do this, you should pray about whether or not you should find another.
We can to get more into this topic if you want to. Want to?
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