The Simple Joy of Tithing Envelopes

By James Nixon

One of my favorite tasks every year is assigning and delivering the new tithing envelopes.  I would love to say there is some profound reason for loving this, but I guess I just enjoy having a task-oriented job that has a clear start and finish and outcome. (I should mention now, if you don’t have a tithing envelope and would like one, please see me, clearly I would love to give you one).  

These envelopes also serve some very practical purposes. They provide anonymity as we count the tithe, create a paper trail if we ever need to research a deposit, and allow the giver to identify how the gift should be attributed.  Our tithing envelopes at Oak Hill have three categories: general giving, mission, & building. At any point in the year, we may campaign for any of these needs.  

At the end of 2025, we were campaigning for all three at once, and if I’m honest, there were times when I questioned if our Church can meet all these goals at once. We had a special Christmas giving campaign that would go toward the mission of funding a trip to India and supporting a church plant in Magnolia, Texas.  This was on top of a capital campaign to pay off our mortgage, and all of that on top of our general tithing needs to meet the budget. I thought, “Surely we will fall short of one of these goals.” However, this line of thinking usually leads me to want to solve a problem before it even exists.  It leads me to think that we as a church, need to raise enough money so that God is able to do the things that he wants to do.  This is, of course, ridiculous.  God will do his work in Quarryville, Texas, and India regardless of whether our giving reaches certain milestones.  

Through the year-end giving season, God has been reminding me that he asks us to be faithful participants in his mission, both as individuals and as a church.  As individuals, we don’t have to solve all the problems or carry the weight ourselves, but instead faithfully trust that God will use what we give in our time, talent, and resources.  And as a church, it is cool to see us participating in his mission, not just in Quarryville but in other places around the world through the Christmas giving.  

As we close in on the tail end of winter, we will hold one of the Finance Team's biggest meetings of the year – the annual audit.  Please be praying for this meeting, specifically that schedules would align to allow as many people as possible to participate.  Pray that God would illuminate the ways that he has provided for our church, and that we would discover ways to better serve and glorify Him.