Giving

Thank you for the considering making a financial investment into the Kingdom of God through Bayou View Baptist Church. As with each area of ministry here, we want to base what we believe on what God teaches us in His word. Consider 2 Corinthians 9:6-8:

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all contentment in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (ESV)

The following is the section on giving from our Statement of Faith:

XIII. Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.

Genesis 14:20; Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 8:18; Malachi 3:8-12; Matthew 6:1-4,19-21; 19:21; 23:23; 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21,42; 16:1-13; Acts 2:44-47; 5:1-11; 17:24-25; 20:35; Romans 6:6-22; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 6:19-20; 12; 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8-9; 12:15; Philippians 4:10-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19.

In his book, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,” Donald Whitney says,

“God wants us to use and enjoy the things He has allowed us to have, but as stewards of them we’re to remember that they belong to Him and they are primarily to be used for His Kingdom. The house or apartment you live in, then, is God’s house or apartment. The trees in your yard are God’s trees…We don’t own anything. God owns everything and we are His managers. For most of us, the house we now call ‘my house’ was called ‘my house’ by someone else a few years ago. And a few years from now, someone else will call that house ‘my house.’… We are just temporary stewards of things that belong to God.”(p. 141)

Ways to Give