Faith, Trust, and Commitment
The “2020 Tithe and Offerings Readings” booklet comprises 52 stories focused on worship instead of on projects. Giving is an expression of worship and not a donation. The readings are done in the form of narration (storytelling style). Most of the stories presented are true accounts of people exemplifying stewardship principles and are developed into four main themes: (1) God First principle, (2) Promise (regular/systematic giving), (3) the Storehouse principle, and (4) importance of vows and are aimed to motivate church members on specific Stewardship topics.
A two-minute video highlighting each reading, one for each Sabbath of the year (in English), accompanies the 52 stories. These videos were produced with a millennial mind-set and are to be presented in the church before the offering collection. They may also be shared on social media.
When will the Tithe and Offerings Readings videos be released? The videos will be shared in English but will be available to be adapted and translated to any language at no charge from the General Conference. So, be prepared to download and translate them, according to the schedule of their availability below.
- 1st Quarter: Nov. 01
- 2nd Quarter: Dec. 16
- 3rd Quarter: Feb. 07
- 4th Quarter: March 23
How should one present the Tithe and Offerings videos every Sabbath before the offering collection?
- Start with the video (2 minutes).
- After the video, the person making the “appeal” may say a few words encouraging a deeper sense of worship during the time the offering is being collected (1 minute).
- Following the collection of the offerings, the person making the appeal should offer a prayer, worshiping God and thanking Him for being our Supplier (30 seconds).
What can the division Stewardship director do to promote the “Tithe and Offering Readings” and videos?
- Begin the translation of the text. The first semester is already available on the GC Stewardship website: https://stewardship.adventist.org/2020-faith,-trust-and-commitment.pdf
- Translate the videos. They will be made available according to the schedule.
- Make both (texts and videos) available on your division’s website. For example, the Rwanda Union is sharing the text of the “Tithe and Offerings Readings” in their weekly Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide.
- Make the videos available on YouTube in languages other than English.
- Videos must be available at least a month in advance.
- Share this information with ministerial councils, training events, social media, and other publications.
- Contact your communication department and ask them to regularly promote both the text and the videos (every week).
- Videos may also be available on the division’s official webpage and social media during the week following the Sabbath they were presented.
