Although God has promised to bless us when we give, we still show signs of lukewarm giving. This has led many congregations to adopt various forms of coercing parishioners to give. For example, in many churches in Ghana, when a congregation prepares to hold a fundraiser to support its programs, invitations are sent to the wealthy to serve as presidents and special guests.

The day is coming. The sermon is very short. There may be no intercessory prayer or Bible Study that day; the purpose is to get enough money as planned. Then the first is offered, then funds are requested, then ‘Kofi ne Ama’ (1) (Kofi and Ama) and finally ‘mmea ne mmarima’ (2) (men and women).

A fundraiser that could have taken a few minutes to organize (note that the fundraiser is only part of the main service) could take more than an hour because that is the day to show different styles of dance; that’s the time to find out if the one born on Friday can raise more than the one born on Monday; that is the period to find out if the men can raise more than the women in the congregation; we eventually lose the purpose of our worship.

Suppose Kwame is a member of such a congregation. Kwame has forty-five US dollars ($ 45.00) to give. During the first offered give five DOLLARS ($ 5.00). He gives higher during the appeal of funds because that is when the various amounts will be mentioned, say $ 100, $ 50, $ 30, $ 20, in descending order. When $ 30 is mentioned, Kwame steps forward to give; everyone finds out that he has given $ 30 and they applaud him. Then he divides the remaining ten dollars ($ 10.00) between ‘Kofi ne Ama’ and ‘mmea ne mmarima’. In the end, it is Kwame who wins, not God.

What is the essence of all these. Can’t we take a few minutes to bring everything we have to the altar? Can’t we just give (Mt. 6: 1-4)? Can’t we save some time for other equally important topics? This will not be possible until the church awakens from its lukewarm state of giving; until the church repents of its lukewarmness and comes to understand the principles of giving. I thank God that some congregations have identified this problem and have repented. These congregations now excel in the grace of giving.

Notes

1. ‘Kofi ne Ama’ is a method of donation in some churches in Ghana. The days of the week are called (Sunday to Saturday) and the day you were born, you walk forward to give. In the end, the total amount contributed by each group born on the day is calculated and announced, starting from the lowest contributors to the highest contributors, amid shouts of joy from the members of the daytime group that is advertised as the winner (the highest contributor).

2. ‘Mmea ne mmarima’ is also a method of donation in some churches in Ghana. In this method, giving is based on gender. Women and men queue separately to make their contributions. At the end, the total amount contributed by each group is computed and announced, amid shouts of joy from the gender group that contributes the most by beating their opponent.