Yet, God's people are not limited to any one congregation. The United Methodist Church is present to people all over the world through ministries of education, health care, hunger relief, crisis intervention, family counseling, and a thousand other ways. The pledge to uphold the church by our presence is a commitment to a process of growth and ministry as well as a commitment to a particular congregation of God's people. Gratitude is the key to meaningful giving. The extent to which we see ourselves as having been blessed, then our giving will be generous and joyous.
Gratitude transforms possessiveness into generosity.
Jesus devoted much of his teaching to attitudes about money. He said that if we see ourselves as those to whom much has been entrusted, then we will give freely of that which has been given to us. To the extent that persons are grateful to God and the work of the church, their giving will be satisfying and fulfilling. The most familiar answer is the tithe, or ten percent of one's income. However you answer it, you are urged to give out of a sense of gratitude and at a level that you find personally satisfying.