Christians give money to the church because they feel so blessed by God, and so thankful for all that God has done for them. We do not give out of duty or obligation, or because the church needs the money. We give as a response of faith. The more blessed we have been financially, the more we are able to give. So everyone will give according to their means.

“Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can”   …John Wesley

Astonishingly enough, generosity feels good. It is a spiritual discipline to give your money away, trusting in God that God will provide for you and your family as well as empower the church to make good use of it through caring for others in the world. While the culture screams at us through the media to spend, spend, spend, and to acquire material possessions and wealth, people of faith learn the joy of letting go of this crazy-making, stressful mentality. Our drive to accumulate wealth and possessions makes for an incredibly unjust world where a few people (mostly North Americans) have so much, while the rest of the world lives in near starvation. We do not need the lifestyle that we have. A life of discipleship including generous giving puts these thoughts into action.

The church is an independent financial organization that receives money only from donations and no other granting sources. Gilmore Park United receives some money from building rentals, and pays its mortgage from money received from Gilmore Gardens Seniors Centre which we built and co-own.

From the money donated we pay the ministers and other staff, maintain our building, run programs for children, youth and adults, and support mission and social justice programs in Richmond, in the downtown east side (First United Church Mission) and across the world through the United Church of Canada.

Christian disciples give proportionally. This means that we give according to our means, on a percentage basis. We make choices in our lives about how we live, the cars we drive, the way we spend, and how we entertain ourselves, by prioritizing our household budgets placing at the top the things that are the most important. Giving in response to what God has done for us comes very close to the top (after providing for the nurture and safety of our families).

Many Christians strive to give 10% of their (net) income.
Those new to Christian discipleship often begin by aiming at giving 2%.
As years go on and your personal circumstances change, you can look at increasing this percentage to 3%, then 5%, and so on.

Whatever you can manage, we encourage you to give a percentage, rather than putting in the offering plate what is leftover.

Those who attend our church regularly may arrange for a monthly pre-authorized remittance (“PAR”) from their bank accounts so that their giving patterns are always consistent. Email the Church Office to set up a PAR. More information on PAR from the United Church of Canada.

You may make a donation at anytime right here through Paypal.