What is a Pledge? A pledge is simply your written expression of a level of participation to a capital campaign that God has placed on your heart with a desired intention of fulfilling it. Confirming the pledge in writing is a way of personalizing the commitment, as an act of worship between you and God, and it also strategically enables the church to plan wisely when undertaking a sizeable endeavor like Open Doors.

Why a Pledge?

Capital campaigns rely on church members making gifts over and above their regular giving to carry out a bold ministry initiative that will truly glorify God. Beyond the obvious financial benefits of a campaign, however, there are even greater spiritual blessings. For indeed the objective of a campaign is not simply to raise dollars, but to raise disciples. Jesus taught that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mtt. 6:21). In other words, the best path to increased giving is the spiritual path where you set your heart on things above. Financial priorities take shape from spiritual priorities. King David declared, “I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing” (1 Sam. 24:24). David understood the gift that would touch the heart of God must first touch the heart of the giver! If it is for your God, let your gift have value, meaning and enhance your ability to worship Him. Often, this type of commitment means giving up something in one area so that you can give more of yourself in another – which is the cost for all of us as we seek God to show us how to give ourselves away to bless the least and the lost. With this as a background, how then do you decide your pledge? That’s the next step. Read on.

If you are single:

1. Pray, asking God to place an amount on your heart to give to Open Doors.
    
2. Ask yourself what amount of money:
   a) you would desire to give, and
   b) you could believe God to provide for you to give.
    
3. Next, assume for a few days you were to give the amount of money you arrived at and then ask yourself these four questions:
   a) Am I joyous about giving this amount?
   b) Is my gift sacrificial?
   c) Am I demonstrating an expression of faith?
   d) Am I convinced I can give this amount with a motivation of worshipping God?
    
4. If I can answer Yes to all four of these questions then you can feel comfortable about your gift amount. If you could not honestly answer Yes to all four questions, run through steps 1-2 again until you are comfortable with your answers in step number 3.

If you are married:

1. Pray as individuals and as a couple to place an amount on your heart to give to Open Doors.
    
2. Still individually, ask yourself what amount of money:
   a) you would desire to give, and
   b) you could believe God to provide for you to give.
    
3. Next, assume for a few days you were to give the amount of money you arrived at and then ask yourself these four questions:
   a) Am I joyous about giving this amount?
   b) Is my gift sacrificial?
   c) Am I demonstrating an expression of faith?
   d) Am I convinced I can give this amount with a motivation of worshipping God?
    
4. Now, get together and share your gift amounts. If you each came up with a different amount, repeat steps 1-3 and see if there is an agreement when you get back together the second time.
    
5. If you were not able to reach an agreement on a pledge value after a reasonable amount of time, choose the lower number as your gift.

HILLSIDE "OPEN DOORS" PLEDGE CARD