Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4
“How simple is it for someone to give to your church or charitable organization? Studies consistently reveal a correlation between ease of giving and the motivation of [givers]. Making it easy to give is a well-known best practice of annual gift campaigns and even more advanced levels of giving. In other words, a potential [giver] is more likely to give to a charity if a convenient method of contributing is provided. Of course, more important motivators than a simple method of giving exist for the [giver].”
David S. Bell in “Making it Simple for Person’s to Give” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, volume 18 (Richmond: ESC, 2016) 16-17.
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians about participating in the collection for the Jerusalem believers, his instructions were clear and simple: earn income, live on less than you make, and bring your surplus on Sunday so we can combine it with the giving of others and deliver it with appointed couriers. Both in my teaching and my part-time service with ECFA as International Liaison, I encourage leaders around the world to follow suit with clarity and simplicity.
Imagine if Paul would have suggested that every church deliver their own gift to Jerusalem. That would have been a long trip for most churches in the ancient Mediterranean world. Few churches might have sent anything had that been the case. While his second letter to the Corinthians deals with the “motivators”, his instructions here are simple. Paul made it easy for people to give, and we (who administrate ministries in the modern world) should too.