If you have visited one of our worship services, you may have noticed  that we do not have a weekly offering. Except for special occasions, we do not take offerings during our worship services but have secured offering boxes that are located in the back of the worship center and foyer entrances.

1. We desire those who call Good Shepherd their home to make their giving a planned and willful decision.
2. We want our guests to experience the worship service and not feel any pressure to give. Even when we have special offerings, we always let our guests know that they may feel free to let the offering plate pass by.

• We believe that each believer should tithe. That 10% should be the starting place for our giving. The first fruit of what the Lord provides.
• We believe the local church should be the first place giving should be directed. There are hundreds of excellent organizations that we highly encourage our people to give to, but this should be after they first give to their local body.
• We believe giving should be planned. That is one of the reasons we don’t pass the offering plate each week.

Only a few from our Accounting Department know the giving records of our families. None of our Elders or Pastors has this information. We don’t want knowledge of contributions to impact or sway our staff’s effectiveness in ministering to the body.

1. Secured offering boxes: As an act of worship you may place your offering in the offering boxes in the back of the Worship Center and foyer entrances during any of our worship services.
2. Good Shepherd Website OnLine giving: Through a secured web site, you may give from your checking account. You may do one-time or regularly-scheduled ongoing gifts.
   
3. Stocks and Estate Planning:  You may contact our Accounting Department for more information on how to use Stocks and Estate Planning. 

Our general philosophy is that all giving goes to the General Fund of Good Shepherd. This fund is directed by the annual budget that our Elders approve each year (Note: we operate on a July – June fiscal year). Generally funds cannot be given to a specific department or ministry. There are a few exceptions, but these are usually related to scholarship accounts, short-term team missions, a few special projects and special offerings that the Elders have approved. We are very careful to comply with all IRS giving and donation receipting regulations for churches. If you have a question, feel free to contact our Accounting Department.

We usually have three special offerings each year.

November Relief offering: This offering is focused on the physical needs of those around the world. It too has Elder approved emphases that go toward such projects as famine relief in Sudan, the developing of economic development in needy countries, or water projects in drought ravaged regions. As with our Global Outreach offering, these projects are usually partnered with our Global Outreach staff or well established partner ministries. Giving to this fund is limited by specific dates.

June Global Outreach Offering: This is an offering that is directed toward special missions projects worldwide. It is a part of our annual Global Outreach week in mid-November that focuses on our Global Outreach staff and ministry throughout the world. This may incorporate Bible translation projects, helping build needed facilities at a school or orphanage, or special outreach projects of our Global Outreach staff. The special projects are approved by our Elders and are administered by our Global outreach department. These funds are above the budgeted monthly support of our Global Outreach staff. Giving to this fund is limited by specific dates.

End-of-the-Year Offering: At the end of each calendar year we have a special offering that will be elder directed to the En-Vision-ing Future Ministry Plan. As Good Shepherd grows and the population of East County mushrooms, we want to be a launching place of ministry.

Disaster Fund: This is not an annual offering, but a fund that is open year-round. Funds will go to disaster work world-wide. Some of these have included hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Indonesia, and earthquake relief in Central Asia. These funds are directed by our Elders.

Three outstanding resources on giving are written by our own Randy Alcorn and Jonathan Martin:

• The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn
• Money, Possessions & Eternity, Randy Alcorn
• Giving Wisely, Jonathan Martin

Good Shepherd offers classes through Financial Peace University two times a year. This 13-week class is a great resource to help everyone better manage their daily finances. You may receive more information through our Financial Peace Ministry.

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