As disciplemaking teachers, we need to take Jesus’ command to teach people “everything” He commanded to include all areas of life, even what we do with our money and resources. That means we disciple students in a stewardship of giving that reflects the heart attitudes Jesus taught and modeled.
Do lay the foundation for giving.
To effectively disciple students, it’s important to help them understand why they should be faithful givers and to encourage them to give for the right reasons. So, lay the foundation by teaching that giving is …
1) a command
Teach how in the Old Testament we find a command to tithe (Mal. 3:10) and in the New Testament we’re told to give as the Lord has prospered us (1 Cor. 16:2) which could possibly take us beyond a tithe. But, don’t stop there. Though God has every right to demand obedience to His commands, He delights when we obey for higher reasons such as the points that follow (Jn. 14:23).
2) a stewardship
Stress that all we have is from God (1 Cor. 4:7) and we will one day give an account for what we do with what He’s given us (Matt. 25:14-30; Heb. 4:13). When we honor God with our wealth, He takes care of us (Prov. 3:9; Lk. 6:38).
3) a means of expressing love, worship, and gratitude to God
When we emphasize God as the Source of all we have, students will be more prone to give back to Him as an act of gratitude rather than duty. Show them how giving, even sacrificing, is a reasonable response to all He’s done for us (Rom. 12:1; Heb. 13:16). It’s a way of letting Him know we love Him with all of who we are (Matt. 22:37-40) as we use what we have for His glory and to help others.
Don’t guilt people into giving when teaching the stewardship of giving.
Giving should be seen as more of a privilege than a duty (2 Cor. 8:3-5). Teaching that pressures students into giving tends to take away the joy of giving as they feel that they’re under compulsion to give rather than doing so from a grateful heart (2 Cor. 9:7).
Guilting people into giving can also push students into giving to show off, something Jesus warned against in Matthew 6:2-4. We must be careful, in any strategies we might use to get people to give, that it doesn’t lead to comparing and competing. We must always make giving about the heart and not the amount given (Mk. 12:41-44; 2 Cor. 9:6-8).
Check out this teacher training resource: Discipling Students in the Stewardship of Giving Worksheet