Hi folks, I’m Sister Betsy, the adrenalin-loving granny who thrives on extreme sports and living life to the full—just like Jesus said we should in John 10:10! I also have a deep passion for supporting frontline mission work at home and around the world, so I want to help you put God First through the practice of systematic benevolence. What is systematic benevolence? I’m glad you asked!
Systematic benevolence, or “Sister Betsy”, as the Adventist pioneers affectionately called it, is a method of returning tithe and offerings that focuses on intentionally and systematically dedicating a percentage of our income to God’s essential mission work around the world.
Sister Betsy is a love-fuelled, faith-based response to God’s goodness. By appealing to our minds and hearts, Sister Betsy changes the lives of people who take God at His word and welcome her into their personal giving plans.
The biblical Sister Betsy model of proportional tithe and offerings has its origins throughout the Bible and was promoted by early Adventist pioneers to help support frontline gospel workers. It was a system of pre-planned, intentional and proportional giving by members that allowed God’s church family to grow rapidly.
Ellen White wrote, “This matter of giving should not be left to impulse. God has given us definite instructions in regards to this. He has specified tithes and offerings as the measure of our obligation, and he desires us to give regularly and systematically. After the tithe is set apart, gifts and offerings should be apportioned, ’as God hath prospered you’” (The Review & Herald, May 9, 1893).
Is it still relevant today?
Yes, more than ever, and here’s why. All mission activities, from local church outreach to massive, nationwide evangelism initiatives, are made possible through your mission offerings. However, while local church offerings have been growing, mission offerings have been declining.
As the graph shows, in 1930, for every $10 that North American Adventists returned in tithe, they gave an additional $6.45 (64.5% of tithe) to mission offerings. By 2008, that number had dropped to just 36 cents (3.6% of tithe), which is almost 18 times less than in the 1930s.
The data for places like Australia and New Zealand is only slightly better with mission offerings in 2021 equating to 4.8 per cent of tithe1, which is still less than half-a-percent of our personal incomes being given to God’s mission. As you can imagine, this severely limits the resources available for fulfilling the great commission of Matthew 28:19,20, both at home and around the world.
Giving systematically and sacrificially, out of our comfort zones, requires a leap of faith. How can we show God that we love Him more than earthly comforts? How can we exercise a greater faith in our Provider God and take that leap? One key way is by taking God at His word when He says, “Test me in this” (Malachi 3:10 NIV). God wants us to test Him, to try His promises and watch Him bless our lives as we faithfully return a full tithe and offerings to His storehouse.
After returning God’s 10 per cent tithe to Him, systematic givers set aside a specific percentage of their income for God’s offerings. For some people this might three, five, even 10 per cent or more. The key biblical principle for calculating offerings for God is that we are to give ‘as God has prospered’ us. (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15)
Let’s welcome back Sister Betsy into our mission offerings planning. By carefully setting aside a prayerfully decided percentage of our income for church mission offerings, together we can provide all the resources needed for God’s frontline mission work at home and around the world.
Ready to take your leap of faith?
Here’s three simple steps to help you set up your Personal Giving Plan.
Step One: Prayerfully consider your current finances and ask God to guide you to give a percentage of your income/increase to the Sabbath school, church and other mission offerings each week.
Step Two: To avoid sporadic or simply emotional giving, set up a system so that your offerings to God— by cash, eGiving or other means—are planned and systematic across the whole year, “as God has prospered you”.
Step Three: If you want to simplify your Sister Betsy giving, just download the eGiving app or visit the eGiving website and set up a “Scheduled Gift”
Ready to climb higher?
If you’re ready to climb higher in your faith-centred, stewardship journey with God, please visit Sister Betsy’s web page at stewardship.adventistchurch.com/sister-betsy/
Julian Archer is the stewardship director of the South Pacific Division.
