As I look back over my 30 years of membership at First United Methodist Church of Evanston, I see many themes that have guided my husband and me as we decided on the amount of our pledge for the following year. Among these are faithful living, faithful giving; transformative faith—living out Jesus’s courageous love; and collaboration, connection, and care. The themes remind us of how our lives will change when we give with heartfelt, prayerful purpose and how the lives of those touched by the work of the church in Jesus’s name will also change. 

We have given as generously as we could over the decades for several reasons. First, our church is our home and the friends we have there are our “church family.” Just as each family member does the chores and work required to make a family happy and safe, the church family needs to share in supporting the life of the church and the staff who make it all possible.  

We have rejoiced when as a congregation we have been able to support our church staff with incomes that will allow them to live with comfort and safety. Being led in worship and joining in and enjoying beautiful music that praises God reminds us of our Christian heritage. Not only does the music ministry need support but the organ and piano must be maintained. Watching the children learn to be members of a choir and to raise their voices in praise is a blessing. 

We see mission work—making disciples for Jesus—as the church’s primary work. All the various programs and opportunities that our church provides for all ages to serve the community and show and share Jesus’s love have enriched our lives again and again. We have traveled all over the U.S. and to Ghana and India to work and serve. Although we have paid the cost of the travel, the staff has done the planning and determined how we will carry out the mission. 

We give because it is our joyful privilege to be part of the great family that is our church. We believe in the call to make disciples and to live by example. In our far-from-perfect world, where money is used in so many controversial ways to promote causes that are hurtful to others, we believe that supporting our church is the best way to encourage and sustain goodness and God’s love in the world.