The Namibian Church and Money: A Biblical Perspective

Document from the year 2020 in the subject Theology - Biblical Theology, Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary, language: English, abstract: Money can be a hot topic in Christian churches and the Namibian church is no exception to that. While many traditional mainline denominations struggle to raise the funds they need for their various ministries, prosperity type churches and Pentecostal church bodies seem to flourish financially in Namibia. Some people are quick to point out that the main reason for this phenomenon lies in the churches' differing attitude towards the concept of tithing. While tithing plays a central role in Pentecostal and prosperity churches, most Protestant denominations rely on other ways of funding.In his paper, Thorsten Prill gives a critical overview of the various methods Namibian churches use to raise funds. These methods include collections, membership fees, fundraising events, commercial activities and investment trusts as well as encouraging members to give a tenth of the income to the church.In a second paper, Johann van Wyk examines the concept of tithing from a biblical perspective. He demonstrates that New Testament teachings do not support the claim that Christians are obliged to tithe. There are, however, a number of helpful biblical principles of giving which Namibian churches should apply. Most importantly, van Wyk argues, that giving in Namibian churches needs to become a matter of the heart; giving must be driven by love and grace.