Money may not seem very 'spiritual' to many people, but it is.

We at River of Life Alliance Church believe that money and how we use it is a spiritual issue- we can worship God with how we use our money which he has entrusted us with!

And, believe it or not, it does cost money to plant a church. And in my view, IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY! The district is helping, and so is the national office, but I believe the lion's share should come from local believers who desire to see local people reached with the good news. Dr. John McArthur has written this about the Tithe and giving: Does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn? Two kinds of giving are taught consistently throughout Scripture: giving to the government (always compulsory), and giving to God (always voluntary). The issue has been greatly confused, however, by some who misunderstand the nature of the Old Testament tithes. Tithes were not primarily gifts to God, but taxes for funding the national budget in Israel. Because Israel was a theocracy, the Levitical priests acted as the civil government. So the Levite's tithe (Leviticus 27:30-33) was a precursor to today's income tax, as was a second annual tithe required by God to fund a national festival (Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Smaller taxes were also imposed on the people by the law (Leviticus 19:9-10; Exodus 23:10-11). So the total giving required of the Israelites was not 10 percent, but well over 20 percent. All that money was used to operate the nation. All giving apart from that required to run the government was purely voluntary (cf. Exodus 25:2; 1 Chronicles 29:9). Each person gave whatever was in his heart to give; no percentage or amount was specified. New Testament believers are never commanded to tithe. Matthew 22:15-22 and Romans 13:1-7 tell us about the only required giving in the church age, which is the paying of taxes to the government. Interestingly enough, we in America presently pay between 20 and 30 percent of our income to the government--a figure very similar to the requirement under the theocracy of Israel. The guideline for our giving to God and His work is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."

We share with you six keys from Randy Alcorn's book The Treasure Principle:

• God owns everything, and I am His money manager.
• My heart always goes where I put my money.
• Heaven, not earth, is my home.
• I should live not for the dot (money) on my lifeline, but for the whole line.
• Giving is the only antidote to materialism.
• God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but my standard of giving.

If you desire to give to River of Life Alliance Church, and our ministries, we could use your help. We are doing alright financially, but the subsidy from the national office has come to a close, and our district subsidy has been reduced by 30%. We need churches and individuals that would commit to financing this church plant over the next year. We need:

•  1X $1,000 monthly sponsor

•  2X $500 monthly sponsors.

•  5x $100 monthly sponsors

• 10x $ 50 monthly sponsors

All told, to meet our monthly budget and do all of our ministries here in Marshall, we need to raise $3000 each month from outside our average tithes, offerings, and district subsidy. Will you help?

We need as many people who can consider us as a place to contribute to regularly as possible to raise the $3000 additional dollars we need to raise monthly. Please prayerfully consider what you can give. We really appreciate those already partnering with us!

You can send your contributions by mail to:River of Life Alliance Church, PO Box 102, Marshall, MN 56258