The Faith Promise Offering for missions is a method of giving with a biblical basis. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 of 2 Corinthians is where we find the scriptural concepts upon which we base this practice. In a nutshell, the Faith Promise Offering for missions is the amount each church member promises to give by faith above his or her tithe during the coming year.

It’s been said that the Gospel is like water stored deep in the ground. It’s free, but it takes money to get it from where it is to where people need it. To get the Gospel around the world involves prayer and many other things, but it also takes money. What does the Bible say about our giving?

1.   Giving to God is Part of Our Worship

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth (Psalm 96:8-9).

2.   Giving to God is an Expression of Our Love

For the love of Christ constrains us…  (2 Corinthians 5:14).

I speak … to prove the sincerity of your love (2 Corinthians 8:8).

Wherefore show … the proof of your love … (2 Corinthians 8:24).

3.   Giving to God is an Act of Personal Surrender

“And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 8:5).

We have received the Gospel. Now it is our responsibility to take or send the Gospel to those beyond us. As our faith is increased, the ministry of the missionaries can be “enlarged” according to 2 Corinthians 10:14-16.

According to the law of the harvest, we will reap in proportion to how much we sow. Sparingly or bountifully, it’s our choice how we give. Once we have decided how much to give, we commit to it. Then we give, not grudgingly or of necessity, nor under pressure. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).

The Faith Promise Offering for missions works when there is a personal surrender to the Lord and His will. We must acknowledge that giving to missions is a grace in which we can and should abound (2 Corinthians 8:7).

Once we understand the need to get the Gospel to the regions beyond us and we realize that, in order for that to happen, our faith must be increased, we pray and ask the Lord what He would have us to do. As we submit ourselves to God’s will, we trust in His provision and commit to honor our promise to the Lord to support His missionary program through our local church.

People all around the world are waiting to hear the Gospel. Missionaries are being called, prepared and trained to go to the world with the Gospel of Christ. We need to pray, increase our faith, and give faithfully and generously for the cause of both home and foreign missions. Are you willing to pray, “Lord, what will You have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). And then, just do it!