GROWING

Meet The Team

Barb Troeger Executive Administrative Assistant

Hometown: Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Family deets: Kip and I have been married 32 years. We have a grown son and two grandbabies, ages 4 and almost 2.

Higher ed: Bachelor’s in Psychology/ Early Childhood Ed. I am completing a Master of Theological Studies at Midwestern Seminary, and I plan to earn a Master of Divinity.

Before IBSA: I was in law enforcement with Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, and I taught Headstart preschool.

I met Jesus: At a Billy Graham Crusade when I was 13.

Life verse or favorite verse: Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Favorite Bible person: Mary. She was mom to a boy, and I can’t imagine how it must have torn her heart to realize what her Son’s destiny was for mankind.

Favorite Illinois discovery: Sangchris Lake State Park

Favorite snack food: Chocolate, any kind of chocolate.

Favorite author: Francine Rivers

Favorite character: I wanted to be Laura Ingalls.

Desert island disc: Praise and worship music

Reality show I’d like to appear on: Amazing Race

A quote I find myself saying: Green Bay Packers are awesome!!

Table Talk

We’re passing the plate again

And here’s why it’s a good thing!

It’s not a great feeling as pastor to come into your office on Monday and find your offering check safely tucked in the front of your Bible.

Like many churches, we stopped passing the plate a few years ago to limit physical contact. We had three methods for giving: mail-in, online, or dropping it in a box by the worship center entrance. To avoid online transaction fees, I continued to write a check.

Our associate pastor diligently reminded us in each service to give by one of these methods, yet I kept walking right by the offering box most weeks. Working at church made it easy for me to correct this mistake, but I wondered how many of our members were having a similar experience. Could this have something to do with our decline in giving?

Should we resume passing the offering plates, even though 70% of churches in a recent Church Answers poll said they will no longer do so?

Our story is neither a demand nor a criticism of the choices other churches have made. I’m just saying why we have restarted this practice and found it to be a good thing for our church.

We pass for worship

Passing the plates provides a moment for reflection. We have resumed a dedicated time for the offering in the middle of our service. We pray for specific ministry efforts of our church and for

God’s blessings on our financial supporting of those efforts. We pray for families and individuals to be blessed by God for their faithfulness.

Dropping an offering in a plate is not more worshipful than online giving. It’s possible to give online prayerfully or in person reluctantly. We’re not emphasizing the method, but the moment of giving as an act of worshipping God.

Even writing this article has led us to a greater diligence in affirming the online givers who may move the plate right down the line without dropping in anything. We want them to know their giving is equally valued (especially since many don’t utilize cash or checks).

Whether the gift is given at that moment, or some moment previously, we want believers to take the time to pray and thank God for the opportunity to give our gifts.

We pass for discipleship

Passing the plates is a practical reminder of discipleship. Do you recall being encouraged in certain aspects of the faith by watching other believers as they would witness, pray, or serve? Our northern region brings many unchurched or dechurched people into the worship service. As they learn what it means to be a Christian, they witness an example of generosity among Christians.

We take a moment during the passing of the plates to explain stewardship. It’s brief and unrehearsed. As pastors, we remind our congregation that God hasn’t made us the owners of our finances, but stewards of them. We’re responsible to use money wisely for ourselves and for his kingdom. We don’t talk percentages, but potential.

Holding that plate for a moment reveals the opportunity for each person to be a giver on some level.

We pass for oneness

Passing the plates is an opportunity for us to be a church family. I see a moment of connection and smiles as people move plates down the line. I watch ushers bring their kids and grandkids along to help in this simple act of serving.

Giving in a worship service changes the nature of the gathering. There is certainly a cumulative aspect as we join our voices together in singing or our hearts in prayer. But, when we give together as a church, a tangible unity is revealed. When we set missions goals, I often tell people to be part of the giving at the start so they can be part of the celebration at the finish line.

Many of our seniors who have been unable return to worship in person are watching online and sending their gifts by mail. We take time to send a handwritten note back to these givers with a word of thanks and often a small point about some way our collective gifts are making a difference together. We let them know they are seen and appreciated.

Since we resumed passing the plates in our worship service, giving has increased. I don’t see that as an issue of compulsion, but of worship, discipleship, and oneness. If the pastor needed this moment built back into our worship service, I presume some others might appreciate it as well.

“...And somehow, every one of them will become a sermon illustration.”

Heath Tibbetts is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Machesney Park and immediate past president of IBSA.