The Bible says, "The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives." (Deuteronomy 14:23 TLB) Tithing is a reminder that God is the supplier of everything we have. It is also God’s personal invitation to an outpouring of his blessing in your life. At The Austin Vineyard there are multiple ways to give. Find the one that's right for you . . .

There are multiple ways for you to give at The Austin Vineyard. Each method allows for God's work to be done as you are faithful to his calling to give back.

There are several benefits to online giving for both you and our church. Some of them are. . .

• Faithfully Honoring God - When you sign up to give online you are deciding in advance to faithfully give. God always blesses that kind of faith! The Bible teaches that we are to honor God with the “First Fruits” of our labor (Proverbs 3:9). By setting up a recurring contribution that is scheduled to come out of your account on the day you specify, you can ensure that your First Fruits are faithfully given back to God.
• Simplicity - You won’t have to remember whether you gave this month or send in an offering by mail when you’re on a trip.
• Security – We utilize an encrypted secure website for your online records. Online giving is more secure than giving with a check or cash because an electronic gift can’t be lost or stolen.
• Focus – Instead of having to worry about writing a check and filling out an envelope during the service, you can be fully focused on the worship service, knowing that you have already given your offering.
• Helping The Austin Vineyard – Online giving is more cost effective for our church to process, and it makes our record keeping much easier.

Automated Bank Debit is the easiest and most effective way to automate your giving. Once it is set up, you may update or change your giving at any time by simply contacting The Austin Vineyard office. Plus, 100% of your gift goes to the ministries of The Austin Vineyard because there are no processing fees.

To sign-up, complete an auto-debit form and mail or fax the completed form to The Austin Vineyard office to have your giving automatically deducted from your checking or savings account. Complete instructions are in the download.

Download automated bank debit form here.

Appreciated Marketable Securities are a great way to maximize your giving, because you receive an immediate income tax deduction for the full fair market value of your securities. In addition, you pay no capital gains tax on the difference between your cost and the fair market value.

For more information on giving stocks/bonds/securities, contact us at giving@austinvineyard.org.

Financial giving at The Austin Vineyard can generally be divided into two categories: tithes and offerings. The Bible teaches us that we worship the Lord with our tithe, which is ten percent of our income contributed to the church on a regular basis. You can learn more about tithes here. When we feel called to give over and above our tithe, we do so as an offering.

The ministry of The Austin Vineyard is funded by God's provision through the tithes and offerings of faithful Austin Vineyard members and attenders. At The Austin Vineyard we honor God's provision by exercising wise and faithful stewardship, ethical business practices, and full accountability so that the financial integrity of The Austin Vineyard remains beyond reproach.

Our mission is facilitated through our system of internal controls over financial reporting and our internal budgeting and reporting processes. Additionally, The Austin Vineyard has a Board of Trustees who maintain the integrity of our financial contributions and stewardship.

Members of The Austin Vineyard may request a copy of our most recent financial statements or ask general questions about our financial practices at any time by contacting us at giving@austinvineyard.org.

While we allow the use of credit cards for tithes and offerings, we still strongly encourage the use of electronic funds transfer rather than credit card for two primary reasons:

• Although many pay off their credit cards each month, many also do not. We do not want to encourage someone to go into debt and pay interest on gifts given to the church.
• With electronic transfer, your entire gift goes to the church. When using a credit card, as much as 3% of your gift can go to the credit card company.

Online Giving Privacy Policies
Your information is held securely by the Church Community Builder system. This information will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled contributions. You can schedule new contributions at any time and can modify or cancel those contributions at any time prior to the date they are scheduled. Once the contribution has been processed, however, it cannot be canceled. If you have any problems or questions related to this, please contact us at giving@austinvineyard.org.