As a church, our giving is not simply to support the work that we do as a community. It is also the way we help one another cultivate our own generosity: our attitudes and practices of sharing with others that deeply influence all aspects of our life.
One tool Christians have used to examine and develop their own generosity is percentage giving. Percentage giving is the practice of totaling everything you have donated to charities, causes, church, etc. in the past year, and dividing that amount by your annual income. The remaining number reflects the percentage of the resources you manage that you share with others. Since ancient times, ten percent has been a standard of sharing with the wider community. For most of us, cultivating the spiritual practice of generosity does not mean instantly growing to a particular percentage of giving. Instead, it often means being aware of how much we truly share, and regularly reflecting on what in our life we would need to do or change to increase that percentage.