Money and the Church

A Biblical and Practical way
to support God's Work

1) Offering Envelopes are still the most popular way to give. Individuals and families who are members automatically receive a set of envelopes. Regular guests can call the church office, 488-3654, if they would like a set of envelopes. Even though there is one envelope per Sunday and one for each special service, you choose when and how much to give. Your offerings are tracked by the Financial Secretary and a year-end statement is prepared for an IRS deduction.

2) Cash offerings, the only difference between this and offering envelopes is we cannot track your offerings (unless you write your name on all the coins and bills you place in the plate.) IRS rules make it hard to claim these gifts; thus we recommend if you are going to give cash and need a receipt for the IRS, you put the money in one of the special offering envelopes available on the table near the sanctuary entrance.

3) Credit Card, EFT and Debit Card offerings are becoming more popular. No check writing and you can make your offering at 1am on a Tuesday. By logging into our website: www.oursaviorhawaii.com and clicking on "DONATE" - you are redirected to a secure website managed by Vanco Services. A one-time registration allows you to give by major credit card, debit card or an EFT directly from your checking or savings account. At the end of the year, you will receive a statement listing all your transactions, including any made with offering envelopes.

4) The Sunday Dollar is the simplest way you can support OSLC. Putting a dollar in the offering plate each Sunday in addition to your regular gifts may not seem like much, but if you add it to all the other dollars and multiply it by 52 - it really adds up.

5) Special Gifts are welcome when you want to give to a designated ministry within the church such as the Youth Group or the Handbell Fund. These are often given to honor someone, remember a special occasion or when a special need arises. You can use the "Special Offering" envelopes on the table at the sanctuary entrance or place your gift in a marked envelope. We encourage you to talk to one of the staff members before you give your gift to make sure it can be used as you wish.

6) One-Time or Calabash Offerings are for when a group or individual shares their ministry with us on Sunday Morning (a missionary or touring choir) and we will take a one-time offering to support them. The money is given directly to their ministry and depending upon their wishes, either OSLC or their organization will provide you with a receipt.

7) Estate or Large Gifts. On some occasions, individuals are moved to give real estate, stocks or bonds or other large gifts, either to the general fund or to support a specific ministry. If you are considering such a gift, we encourage you to contact the church staff to set up a meeting. We would be happy to discuss the possibilities and to make sure it is done properly.

If you have specific questions about what can be claimed as a charitable gift or how to claim charitable gifts, you can read IRS Document 526 at the IRS website:

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf

Our Savior Lutheran Church  808.488.3654
98-1098 Moanalua Road  Aiea, HI  96701