Creating a Giving Goal
You’ve heard about Savings Goals, Investment Goals, even Spending Goals—but have you ever thought about your goals surrounding connecting your finances to the Kingdom?
Solomon had a giving goal in the Bible; he wanted to bring the best and biggest offering he could to the temple (1 Kings 3). When he did this, when he reached his giving goal, God took notice. It wasn’t just the size of the gift; it was that Solomon connected his heart to it—it mattered to him!
When you set a giving goal, don’t just think about the dollar amount—think about where you want the seed connected to. For example, do you have a passion for seeing your local community reached? Sow into a local Christian food pantry or City Mission. Do you have a heart for Africa? Sow into a ministry that has a connection to winning the lost in Africa. Are you extremely connected to your local church? Sow into the work that they are doing and connect your finances even more to their vision. Remember, whatever fruit the ministry or organization that you connect your finances to yields will be your fruit too!
Here are some steps to help you make your giving goals:
Ask the Lord for direction. Ask Him! Lord, is there a specific place you want me to tie my finances to? Lord, is there a specific amount? Ask him for God-ideas on how to achieve your goal.
Make your goal specific. How much? Why? What are you expecting a return on for your seed sown? What are you believing God to do when you release this seed? Where are you going to sow the seed? Why that organization? When you release that seed, when you achieve that goal, make sure these questions are crystal clear in your mind and heart.
Make a plan. If your goal is to sow $10,000 into your local church, can you do that today? Can you do it by October? What do you need to do in order to get ready to achieve your goal? When we have set these goals in the past, for us, it has looked like limiting how much we ate out or cutting down on unnecessary expenses. We wanted to achieve the goal! It could be as simple as putting $50 extra dollars aside to give an offering at the end of the year—make your plan!
Set your faith. Once you release your seed, make sure your faith is set! When my husband and I have done this in the past, we couldn’t wait to release the seed that we had planned. It was an amazing feeling to finally write the check, send it to the ministry, and know that God was going to do something amazing.
Setting goals for every area of your life is vital to success. The same is true with giving. Set a giving goal today, and watch how it grows and expands your faith as you reach and achieve that goal!