"But just as you excel in everything… see that you also excel in this grace of giving." - 2 Corinthians 8:7

Thank you for your interest in online giving to Oak Ridge Church. The following information will give you a brief explanation of why we have made online giving available.

There are multiple ways for you to give at Oak Ridge.  Each method allows for God's work to be done as you are faithful to his calling to give back.

What are the benefits to online giving?

There are several benefits to online giving for both you and our church.  Some of them are. . .

· Faithfully Honoring God  - When you sign up with eGive to give online you are deciding in advance to faithfully give. God always blesses that kind of faith! The Bible teaches that we are to honor God with the “First Fruits” of our labor (Proverbs 3:9). By setting up a recurring contribution that is scheduled to come out of your account on the day you specify, you can ensure that your First Fruits are faithfully given back to God.

· Simplicity - You won’t have to remember whether you gave this month or send in an offering by mail when you’re on a trip.

· Security – We utilize an encrypted secure website for your online records. Online giving is more secure than giving with a check or cash because an electronic gift can’t be lost or stolen.  

· Focus – Instead of having to worry about writing a check during the service, you can be fully focused on the worship service, knowing that you have already given your offering.

· Helping Oak Ridge – Online giving is more cost effective for our church to process, and it makes our record keeping much easier.

Why do we tithe?

The Bible says that the purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives. (Deuteronomy 14:23 TLB) Tithing is a reminder that God is the supplier of everything we have. It is also God’s personal invitation to an outpouring of his blessing in your life. Even though tithing is primarily an Old Testament principle (In the New Testament, EVERYTHING belongs to God.), a tenth is a great way to start and develop the habit of giving.

The word "tithe" is derived from the Hebrew word “ma’aser” and it literally means a tenth. Ten percent of everything belongs to the Lord. In Malachi 3:10 (NLT), God says this: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” This is the only place in Scripture where God tells us that we can actually put God to the test. In other words, he’s saying, “Go ahead. I dare you. See if you can out-give me.”

Is God wise? Do you trust him? These are two fundamental questions behind the act of giving. If God is wise, then you should listen to what he says about financial stewardship. If you trust him, then you should trust him with all aspects of your life, including your finances. So go ahead. Accept God’s invitation to put him to the test. Start tithing faithfully and watch what he does in and through your life.

Online Giving Privacy Policies

Your information is held securely by the eGive system. This information will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled contributions. You can schedule new contributions at any time and can modify or cancel those contributions at any time prior to the date they are scheduled. Once the contribution has been processed, however, it cannot be cancelled. If you have any problems or questions related to this, please contact us at churchoffice@oakridgecc.org .

A Note about credit cards

While we are set up for the use of credit cards for tithes and offerings, we still strongly encourage the use of electronic funds transfer rather than credit card for two primary reasons:

· Although many pay off their credit cards each month, many also do not.  We do not want to encourage someone to go into debt and pay interest on gifts given to the church.

· With electronic transfer, your entire gift goes to the church. When using a credit card, as much as 3% of your gift can go to the credit card company.

Thank you for your interest in giving to Oak Ridge. We hope this information has been helpful. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact the church office by email at churchoffice@oakridgecc.org . We would be more than happy to help you in any way we can.

Do you have questions about eGive? Click Here!

Want to go back to the Oakridge Community Church website? Click Here!

United with you,

George