Pledging and Giving
Our vision at Grace United Methodist Church is to be an inclusive community, passionately following Jesus Christ. You may have a few questions, though, about giving your money to Grace. Its important that your money is safe, and gets exactly where you want it to go in support of the mission and ministries of the church, so here are a few answers to frequently asked questions regarding giving.
How do you give money to Grace United Methodist Church?
You can write a check and mail it to Grace at 555 Russell Avenue Wyckoff, NJ 07481. You could also give cash and check donations on Sunday in the worship service. We also encourage you to consider recurring giving as a way to support the ongoing work of the church. By setting up an ongoing gift, you help to reduce the work needed by volunteers who faithfully count the offerings from members and friends like you every week. Visit our website, gumc.org, and click the button to “give” to find our online giving platform called Pushpay. You can also download the Pushpay app on your phone and search for our church using the zip code 07481. Gifts given by credit card have a 3% processing fee, while direct bank transfers (called ACH) only cost 1%, so we encourage you to use your banking information rather than a credit card if you can for recurring gifts.
How do I make a ‘pledge,’ ‘estimate of giving,’ or ‘statement of intention’ to Grace United Methodist Church?
Every year Grace UMC used to invite members and friends to make a commitment to support our church financially for the following year of ministry. We appreciate your gifts and pledge, ourselves, to faithfully and securely direct these resources toward the vital ministries of the church. We give thanks for all those who support the church, and those who volunteer their time to make ministry happen in the church and in the community. A ‘pledge’ or ‘estimate of giving’ was a way to signal your intended financial support of the church in the following year. These days we shy away from ‘pledge’ language because of the legal requirements around the language of a pledge. The goal is not to obligate you to give, no matter what; we simply want to be able to make plans for ministry based on your support. Even an ‘estimate of giving’ card, though, can muddy the picture of how much people plan to give, because giving often happens whether a person fills in a card or not. Your faithful giving and support is not dependent on filling in a piece of paper! Today we use something called a ‘statement of intention.’ Its not tied to a particular year; it just asks how much you plan to give to the church going forward. If your financial situation changes, simply give us a call and talk to our financial secretary, who can update your information. You can also pick up a ‘statement of intention’ card in the entryway of the church, fill it in, and drop it in an offering plate. A final option is to submit a ‘statement of intention’ anytime online at www.gumc.org/giving by clicking the ‘statement of intention’ button. This process helps give the church clarity on how much support we can expect, not just for the next few months or year, but in an ongoing way to see ministry happen through the church.
Give generously
Many churches encourage people to give ten percent of their income, describing it as a biblical “tithe.” We recognize the poor are exempted from this (Deut. 16:17, 1 Tim. 5:8) and those with more are expected to give even more (Lev. 27). There is no one right amount for everyone; only give what God has called you to give in your heart (2 Cor. 9:7). A weekly, monthly or yearly gift is most helpful to the church, as regular income helps the church plan for future ministry. Recurring gifts online are the most convenient, while checks are the safest and most cost-effective. Though there are many good places your money could go, the Church is uniquely positioned as the one organization doing not just good work, but holy work. The Church is transforming lives in the name of Jesus Christ, making disciples through worship, small groups and missions. We will do everything we can to make sure every dollar is wisely spent to further the pursuit of this holy mission.
Where does my money go?
At Grace United Methodist Church we pursue several ministries to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. When you give a gift to the church it goes toward supporting our weekly worship experience, small groups that meet at our facility and the missions that impact our community. Some of our key ministries include the Grace Nursery School, youth ministry, confirmation, Bible studies, the worship team, including the choir, and Sunday School. We also support Family Promise and the Center of United Methodist Aid to the Community (CUMAC). We helped Family Promise provide over 40,000 meals and almost 5,000 bed nights for homeless families. At CUMAC we were a part of collecting 900,000 pounds of food and serving over 11,000 families through our Paterson ministry. A small portion of all money collected also goes to the Annual Conference, the larger United Methodist body that ministers on behalf of the collective churches across New Jersey. Through the Annual Conference we support: the World Service Fund, which promotes church growth, evangelism, Bible study and spiritual commitment; the Episcopal Fund, which allows Bishops to support important ministries in a timely way; and the Ministerial Education Fund, which helps recruit and educate ministers. These vital ministries transform our community as we seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ.