One time I met a gentleman at The Journey who was a self-professed agnostic. Let’s call him Ben. Ben happened to be visiting with a friend one fall Sunday when I laid out this tithe challenge. Ben was a little older than our average attenders, and he was in the midst of a successful career as an air traffic controller.

After the service, Ben came over to me and said, “Okay, I’m going to test God. I want to take this ‘tithe challenge’ and dispel all his foolishness. I’m going to prove to you that God doesn’t exist.”

So he and I sat down and figured out what 10 percent of his income would be and divided that out over the next four months. He came to church a couple of times during the course of the challenge but not regularly. His tithing, however, was like clockwork. Can you guess what happened?

God worked in Ben’s life in amazing ways. He began being blessed, both tangibly and intangibly. To make a long story short, Ben came back to me after those four months fully convinced of God’s existence. Of course, as usually happens when someone takes the tithe challenge, he has continued to tithe.

Ben is not an exception to the rule. I have seen this scenario play out time and time again. God shows up in people’s lives when they honor him. He has obligated himself to do so. God’s promise about tithing is an if/then promise. “If you honor me with your firstfruits, then I will pour out my blessing in your life.”

God’s promise of blessing crosses over into the New Testament. Recall Jesus’s “of course you should tithe” comment in Matthew 23:23. Paul follows that up in 2 Corinthians 8:7: “Since you excel in so many ways–in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love for us–I want you to excel also in the gracious act of giving.” As we excel in grace, we should excel in giving.

–Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson

The above excerpt is from pgs. 61-62 of The Generosity Ladder: Your Next Step to Financial Peace.

Help your people find financial peace with my best-selling book, The Generosity Ladder. Imagine a life in which you don’t struggle to make ends meet each month–a life with no debt, a healthy savings account, and solid plans for retirement. Imagine being able to help people in need and give to causes much bigger than your own concerns. This is how God wants everyone to live. And it is attainable. With the help of this practical and insightful book, your people will uncover their true level of financial health and discover a step-by-step plan to save, spend, and invest money in a responsible, godly way. Click here for more information on ordering in bulk for your church.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.