In the spring of 1994, I (Sean) dropped my first donation into the offering plate as a brand-new Christian—right there in the sanctuary of Christ Church Anglican. It was a different church back then, but I still remember exactly where I was sitting (back row, left side). Giving felt strange and unfamiliar; I had never intentionally given money away before. Yet somehow, I knew it was right. It wasn’t really my money in the first place.
Over the years, our personal finances have gone up and down, but the question has never been if we should give—it’s been how we can wisely use the resources the Lord has entrusted to us. Now, as members of CCA, we want our church to move into each new year with confidence. When our leaders know what to expect financially, it frees them to focus on ministry rather than on monthly “what ifs” about the budget.
In our family most of our finances happen electronically these days. Placing a simple pledge card in the offering plate has become a meaningful, tactile reminder that we are offering something to the Lord. It’s an act of worship—something we physically do to express a spiritual reality.
The annual pledge season also provides our family with a moment to pause and review our giving. In previous churches, our donations were automated and rarely revisited. But an annual pledge invites us to pray, reflect, and ask again how God might be calling us to give in this season.
Pledging, for us, isn’t just about budgets or numbers—it’s about trust, worship, and participation in what God is doing through our church family.
Sean and Erin McGever