Miami, Florida…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
The giving of tithe and offering each Sabbath is an act of gratitude to God for Seventh-day Adventists, and is also an expression of faith in the church's financial system. Thanks to that faith, the church has managed to blossom throughout the world for 150 years. For the Inter-American Division (IAD), the last 10 years has seen a much improved system of giving, according to a recent evaluation.
The evaluation, conducted by IAD leaders last month at IAD's Miami headquarters, attributed dramatic improvements in systematic giving in the territory to the 60-20-20 plan, which was approved by the church leadership in 1994. The plan was one of three designed by the Adventist World Church. According to the plan, offering money collected in envelopes with the “Global Offering” option selected are distributed in the following way: 60% to the local church budget, 20% to support the building of new churches and schools according to local needs and 20% for the global church work.
“It was a bold decision taken by church administrators throughout Inter-America [in 1994] to adopt to this plan, but one that proved to be a success,” said Pastor Mario Niño, Stewardship director for the church in Inter-America.According to the Adventist World Church annual statistical report, in a period of 10 years, Inter-America had an increase in world mission offerings of 43%, an average of 4.35% annually, while other world divisions had a decrease in the same span. Tithe in the IAD also increased by 119.5% during 1995-2005, something almost unheard of said Niño. The IAD is the only Division worldwide to adopt the Global Offering program in its entirety.
“This evaluation was very important, because, at the beginning, many thought that this program was going to damage the missionary program,” he said. “However, the report demonstrated that this did not occur.”
“Because of this decision, the world church has benefitted with more funds and our Division as well,” he added.
Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America, who has been a strong supporter of the 60-20-20 plan since before it was implemented, congratulated church administrators and leaders at the evaluation meeting for their committed support [to the plan] which brought such visible success.
“The previous plan, where the member specified on the envelope what to do with the funds, was based on mistrust,” said Pastor Leito. “The success of the 60-20-20 plan in our division is based on the membership's trust in its leaders and for me this is more important than the abundance or lack of money. It is the trust our brethren place on us as leaders to manage the goods of the Lord.”
Pastor Leito encouraged church leaders to continue to foster that trust by acting responsibly and in turn encourage their congregations to not only love and contribute to their church but to also submit their lives, talents and time to the finishing of God's work.
Encouraging members to use their lives, talents and time wisely is what stewardship is all about, said Niño.”The outstanding increase of members' contributions is not only because the membership has grown but because those members are educated on the importance of having a personal stewardship plan and trusting the leadership [of the church],” he added.
After the evaluation of the 60-20-20 plan, the assembled leaders received two days of stewardship training.
“Our greatest challenge in Inter-America is to recognize the importance of an ongoing educational program on stewardship,” said Niño. “We can continue having success, but if it is not maintained, it may suffer in the long run.”
For more information on Inter-America’s stewardship programs and resources, visit www.interamerica.org
