Giving - Reservoir Church
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Giving

Why Give?

Giving is central to the human experience. It’s a way of contributing to your community and watching the people around you grow and flourish. When we give, we become involved in our community and an active part of making real changes happen.

Those who give know that the act itself goes beyond money — it goes right to the core of our human values. Collective giving, like you see in a church, enables us to do so much more together than any of us can do alone.

Giving puts our faith into action and displays the love Jesus has for people, regardless of their backgrounds or their needs.

How to Give

Giving can be rewarding when we know we are part of making something great happen. At the same time, money can be a source of anxiety. You may be flooded with a number of questions and wonder, is this a good time for me to give? What is the right amount to give? Is it really worth it? Will people judge me based on what I give?

Or perhaps you felt pressured into giving to churches or other organizations in the past. At Reservoir Church, we believe that financial partnership with our community can be a life-giving opportunity, and we hope that everyone who comes here feels complete freedom to embrace that opportunity however God leads. One model that members of our community have found helpful is to ask God how, and how much, to give. Many of us find that, in having this conversation with God, he takes away our fears about money — often in surprising ways. Our acts of kindness may liberate us and bring as much abundance, healing, and hope into our lives as it does for the people our offerings serve.

There are diverse ways to give at Reservoir Church:

  • Financial giving: We explicitly ask visitors to give us nothing, but the work of Reservoir Church relies upon the generosity of our community members. Tithing to the church — or giving 10% of your gross annual income — is one way our members give. Members also commonly give $100 per month or $100 per week, totaling $1,200 and $5,200 annually. If you’re interested in Membership at Reservoir, you can learn more about that here.
  • Serving and volunteering: An integral part of giving involves the giving of our time and resources to serve others. The best way to volunteer is to serve in areas you feel called to. At church, you may volunteer by serving tea and coffee, ushering, cleaning up after serving breakfast, teaching kids and youth, lending your talents to the worship team, taking up tithes and offerings, or assisting with administrative duties.

We accept donations in various ways. For some members, giving fits into a Sunday morning during our worship. Others automate regular giving through their bank. We also offer the option to give online, where you can set up payments from your credit card or bank account. 

A note about credit cards: Credit card debt is a major issue in our society. Please do not give to us via credit card if this is an area of concern for you.

What We Do and Who We Give To

We are deeply committed to responsible and ethical use of funds. Our board provides financial oversight to the church, we practice extensive cash management controls, and we publish annually fully audited financial reports for all of our givers. All donations are tax-deductible.

The funds you give to this church sustain our community and pay to “throw the party” (Luke 14: 15-24) we are having here at Reservoir. Funds pay for our facilities, the technical costs of Sunday worship, the breakfast we provide for free each Sunday, our pastors and pastoral ministry, and our outreach. Members and visitors are free to reach out to us for a comprehensive breakdown of our finances. 

In addition to the outreach and the work in our city that we fund and support, we give over 10% of our budget each year to individuals and organizations doing great work consistent with our mission and values in our city, our region, and around the world.

There are five organizations we partner with closely:

  • Asha empowers people who live in 71 slum communities in Delhi, India. They focus on education, financial literacy, and access to health care. Asha works to stop the cycle of poverty through leadership development and a multifaceted approach. Reservoir is also the home office of Asha-USA, a 501(c)3 registered charity that raises funds and support for the work of Asha.
  • We give to Victory Programs — a Boston-based nonprofit organization that strives to help individuals and families battling homelessness and who may be facing substance use disorders and related chronic health issues such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and mental illness.
  • Greater Boston Interfaith Organization works to train and organize local communities across religious, racial, ethnic, class, and neighborhood lines. They bring churches, synagogues, mosques, and local organizations together to effect policy change on nonpartisan issues, including affordable housing, health care access, and criminal justice reform.
  • We fund Cambridge Rindge and Latin School postsecondary scholarships. These scholarships are a way to continue to care for young people who live in North Cambridge and participate in our community work.
  • We also invest in relational coaching and peacemaking in the Middle East but don’t publicize the identities of our partners there.

Through these and other partnerships, we have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to help people and organizations share Jesus’ love and healing on both an individual and community scale. To learn more or get involved in our partnerships — as one who gives, one who prays, or one who goes — please contact our Partnerships Team at partnerships@reservoirchurch.org.

Giving at Reservoir Church

At Reservoir Church, we strive to give as Jesus gives — freely, generously, and with love and compassion for all. We love witnessing the beauty of giving and how simple acts of faith can reverberate through society and have a transforming effect on those who give and the ones who receive. 

If you would like to sow into our church, our community, our missions, or any of our organizations, you can make a secure once-off or recurring payment or contact us today for more ways to get involved.