A preacher who serves without pay may need to tell his congregation that food is short, that the fare for the next journey is not in hand, or that a relative’s needs have grown. The difficulty is knowing what to say to your church when you need financial help, and what to leave unsaid. Scripture gives a pattern in the way Paul spoke to the churches. This article sets out that pattern in practical order: who to tell first, which words to use, which to avoid, and how to give thanks afterward.
The reasoning for why asking is not greed is given in the article on asking your community for help honestly. This piece supplies the words themselves.
Before You Speak: Pray First and Examine Your Motive
Bring the need to God before you bring it to men. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). He wrote this to a church, and the same letter later records that he received their gifts. Prayer comes first, and the church comes second.
Then examine your motive, in the presence of God, with a few plain questions:
- Is the need real, and can you name it exactly: a bag of rice, a bus fare, a child’s school fees?
- Would you still be willing to serve if the answer were silence?
- Are you hoping to be praised for your sacrifice, or to make someone feel guilty?
- Have you first done what you can with your own pension and your own hands?
Paul said he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in (Philippians 4:11). That contentment is not a refusal to speak of need. It is the condition in which a man can speak of need without bitterness, because his trust does not depend on the answer. If you find resentment in your heart, wait, and pray until it is gone. Words spoken in resentment will carry it to the congregation, however carefully they are chosen.
If the need is pressing and you want help praying about it first, the article on how a preacher can pray when the bread is running short may serve you.
Tell the Elders or Trusted Brethren Before You Tell the Whole Church
Speak first to one or two mature brethren whom you trust, ideally the elders if your congregation has them. There are three reasons for this.
First, they may know of a way to meet the need that you do not. A congregation often has a benevolent arrangement, or a member who has been waiting for a way to help. Second, they can advise you on whether a public word is needed at all. Many needs are met quietly, and a quiet gift spares everyone embarrassment. Third, if a public word is appropriate, it will not come as a surprise. The brethren will understand it, and some may speak in support of it.
Scripture shows Paul taking care over how gifts were received and carried. He mentions Epaphroditus, who brought to him what the Philippians had sent (Philippians 4:18). The gift travelled through a trusted man, in the open, and Paul acknowledged it plainly. Order and openness protect the preacher’s name and the church’s peace.
When you speak to the elders, say what you would say to the whole church, only more fully. Tell them what the need is, how long it has lasted, and what you have already done about it. Ask them for counsel before you ask them for money.
Three Plain Sentences: Naming the Need Without Complaint or Pressure
If the elders agree that a word to the congregation is fitting, keep it short. Three sentences are enough, and each has one task.
- State your service and your situation. “Brethren, I serve in teaching the gospel without payment, and I live on a small pension.”
- Name the need exactly. “This month I am short of food, and I lack the fare to reach the places where I am asked to teach.”
- Leave the response with them and with God. “If the Lord moves any of you to help, I will receive it with thanks; if not, I will keep teaching and keep trusting Him.”
These are an example of the form, and you should put your own true need into it. Do not enlarge the need to move people, and do not shrink it to appear humble. If the need concerns a sick relative or a child’s schooling, say so in the same manner: what is needed, in a single sentence, with no description of suffering meant to move pity.
Each sentence carries something of Paul’s manner. He stated what he had received, and he stated what he lacked when it was true. He never demanded. The third sentence matters most, because it leaves the congregation free. A gift given under pressure is not the fruit Paul spoke of.
What Not to Say: Guilt, Hints, Comparisons and Promises Made on God’s Behalf
Some things are best left out entirely, even if they feel natural in the moment.
Guilt. Do not say that the church has neglected you, or remind them of what you have given up. “After all I have done for you” turns a request into a debt. Paul did reprove churches when reproof was needed, but he did not use it to collect gifts.
Hints. Remarks such as “the cupboard is bare this week” or “I do not know how I shall travel”, spoken with no request attached, ask for help while pretending not to. They leave the hearers uncertain what is wanted, and they put the burden on them to guess. If you have a need, say so once and plainly. If you will not say it plainly, do not say it.
Comparisons. Do not compare your congregation with another that gives more, or your situation with that of preachers who are paid. Comparison breeds envy on your side and defensiveness on theirs.
Promises on God’s behalf. Do not say, “God will bless you ten times over if you give,” or “Whoever helps me will never lack.” Scripture does not authorize a preacher to guarantee a return in his own name. Paul wrote, “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19), but he wrote it to a church that had already given, as an expression of his confidence in God. He did not offer it in advance as the price of their giving. To promise what God has not promised is to speak falsely about Him, and a preacher above all must avoid that.
Self-pity. A preacher may mention his need, but he should not describe his hardships at length. Long accounts of suffering invite pity, and pity is a poor motive for giving.
How Paul Spoke of Gifts Received and Why He Called the Fruit Theirs, Not His
Two passages show Paul’s pattern, and they should be read together.
In 1 Corinthians 9 he sets out the right of those who preach. “Have we not power to eat and to drink?” he asks (verse 4). He argues that “if we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?” (verse 11), and he states that “the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (verse 14). So the preacher’s claim on the church for his bodily needs is grounded in the Lord’s own ordinance.
Yet Paul adds that he had not used this right in Corinth, “lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ” (verse 12), and that he had not written so that it should be done in his own case (verse 15). He chose, in that place, to forgo what he was entitled to. This does not make asking wrong, since in Philippi he gladly received what they sent. It shows that a preacher judges, place by place, what will best serve the gospel, and that the right and its use are separate matters.
In Philippians 4 Paul thanks the church for sending to his need more than once, even when he was in Thessalonica (verses 15 and 16). Then he says something worth studying closely: “Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account” (verse 17). He directs attention away from the gift and toward what it does for the givers. In his words, the fruit is credited to their account. He calls what they sent “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God” (verse 18). He also says, “I have all, and abound: I am full” (verse 18), which tells them plainly that their gift was enough.
From this the preacher may take four practices. He should receive gifts with gratitude. He should say when the need has been met. He should remind the givers that their giving is an offering to God, not a payment to himself. And he should speak of the fruit as theirs.
Thanking the Congregation and Giving the Matter Back to God
When help comes, thank those who gave, and do it specifically. Name what was received and what it will be used for, in the same plain manner in which you named the need. If gifts were passed through the elders, thank them too, as Paul named Epaphroditus. Do not make the thanks long, and do not compare the givers.
If help does not come, or comes only in part, say nothing that suggests disappointment. Paul’s contentment was not tied to what he received (Philippians 4:11), and a preacher who speaks once and then waits in peace shows the congregation the same trust he teaches them. Return to prayer and to the ordinary work of teaching. Other resources are also open: the article on stretching a fixed pension through the month addresses the practical side.
After the matter is spoken, do not raise it again and again. One honest word, followed by trust, is the pattern. Whatever the congregation does, the Lord who sees the labor knows it, and He is the one who rewards it.
A short prayer to close:
Heavenly Father, You know what I need before I ask. Keep my heart free from shame, from complaint and from every desire to move men by anything but the truth. Let my words be few and honest. Bless those who give, and bless those who cannot, and let the fruit be counted to their account. I place this matter in Your hands and will go on teaching Your word, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This week, write out your own three plain sentences: your service, your exact need, and the freedom you leave with the hearers. Pray over them each day, and change any word that carries guilt, hint or pressure. Before you speak to anyone, read the article on asking honestly as a volunteer preacher so that your motive is settled as well as your words.