giving

How Can I Give?

One of the greatest ways we can engage in the community of faith is through the giving of ourselves: our time, our talents and our treasures. Giving is a spiritual discipline as well as a spiritual gift. We are all called to be generous. As a young community of faith, we are relying on God to work through a wide variety of people to give us the resources we need to carry out this mission.

If you are part of the kairos community in Los Angeles, we take time in our weekly gathering each week to respond to God – through giving, through worship, and through taking communion. You are welcome to offer your financial gifts at this time each week.

If you are not in Los Angeles but desire to partner financially with the kairos community, the most efficient method to give is to mail a check or use your bank’s Bill Pay service (if available). Make checks payable to “Kairos Los Angeles” and mail them to:

Kairos Los Angeles
5419 Hollywood Blvd.
Suite C-729
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Please pray for us and be a generous giver. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give, than to receive.” Have you experienced the truth of that statement?

thoughts on giving

Many churches today no longer like to talk about money, and sometimes we can understand why. One reason is that there has been a lot of abusive teaching and practices when it comes to money and the church. Unfortunately, this has been the case since the church’s conception. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians he said, “You see, we are not like those hucksters—and there are many of them—who preach to make money. We preach God’s message with sincerity and with Christ’s authority. And we know that the God who sent us is watching us.” The same is true today; many peddle God’s word to get rich instead of speaking his word sincerely.

But just because there is abusive teaching and practices concerning money, it doesn’t mean we should avoid teaching and doing what God says in regard to money. Jesus talked more about money than he did heaven. Here are a few thoughts when it comes to being a good steward of our financial resources.

money is a good servant but a poor master

Jesus puts it this way, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” By that, many people think Jesus is saying, “Don’t try and serve God and money.” That is not what Jesus says here. He says, “You cannot serve God and money.” You actually can’t do it!

When money is your master, you constantly think about it - and when you think about money, it tends to make you worry. The German word for worry is “wurgen,” which means ‘to choke’ or ‘to strangle.’ It makes sense why Jesus said, “The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” Money makes a great servant but a poor master.

god owns everything, and all i have belongs to god

The psalmist declared, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” We see this message throughout the Scriptures. The fact is that God owns all that I have; I am simply called to be his steward. Whether God entrusts us with little or a lot, we are called to be managers of what he gives us. And some day we are going to meet the manager and give an account of how we have used his resources.

The Scripture makes it clear that we can’t take any possessions with us, but we can send a lot of things ahead of us. When we give to God’s kingdom we are storing up treasures in heaven—treasures that thieves can’t steal and rust won’t touch. There isn’t a better investment in the world than that given to God’s kingdom.

many of us are rich, and we can help the poor and oppressed

Did you know that one of five people in developing countries is undernourished, and that one of five people in major industrial countries is overweight or obese? The latest statistic concerning Americans says that 60% of us are overweight.

If you are reading this right now, there is a very good chance that you are rich according to the standards of the world. We have plenty. And Jesus said “to whom much is given, much is required.” One statistic that always cuts to the heart is this:

Do you know what the estimated annual cost would be to achieve universal access to water and sanitation? For every human being to have water and sanitation - it would cost 12 billion dollars. Now get this, the annual expenditure on perfume and cologne in Europe and the US is 12 billion.

As a corporate body of people—when it comes to a choice if all could have water and sanitation or we all could smell good, we’ve made a decision.

If I am really going to be honest with God and the Scriptures, I need to admit that I am rich and that God has called us to care for the poor. Locally we are engaged in a number of ministries in which we both give fish and teach people to fish. We are also adopting some churches in developing countries and contributing to their needs, because we know the truth of what Solomon wrote in proverbs 28:27 “Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing. But a curse will come upon those who close their eyes to poverty.”

you can never outgive god

There is no greater giver than God, and God always looks out for those who give. God loves to bless his children, especially those who are stepping out in faith and trusting his words. Peter one time seemed to be acting as if he had to sacrifice a lot to follow Jesus. Jesus quickly corrected Peter and said to him, “I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return, a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—with persecutions. And in the world to come they will have eternal life.”

That is an amazing promise and one you can take to the bank.

privacy policy:

Kairos does not sell the personal information of donors to third parties. Kairos will not disclose information about our donors to anyone unless required to by a legal order. This includes demographic information about the donors or website visitors. It also includes all personal information about the donor, including their credit card information and the amount they donated. Personal information collected through our website may be used to keep you updated about the activites of Kairos.

If you would like to give to kairos online, all of our online giving is processed through a partner organization called Network of Giving. To give to kairos online, please click on the donate button. You can either give a one-time donation or set up monthly giving. You'll have to create a username and password on the following page. Network of Giving is a non-profit organization committed to the safety and security of your financial information.

(Please note: If you choose to give online through Network of Giving a small percentage of your donation will go to support the work of Network of Giving and your giving statement will be processed through Network of Giving rather than Kairos Los Angeles)