7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality. --2 Corinthians 8:7–9, 13-14 (NIV)

We give for these reasons:

• (v. 9) We see what Christ has done for us and want to respond in thanks.
• (v. 13) Our gifts bless other people in both physical ways (food, shelter, etc.) and spiritual ways (paying for a pastor, etc.)
• (v. 8) Money often is a thermometer of our love for God. If money is difficult to part with, it may mean that we trust in it more than we trust in God. 

We DO NOT give for these reasons:

• We might earn favour with God. We are already made perfect in Jesus.
• We might show off our generosity to others. Jesus said, "when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do." (Matthew 6:2)

In the Old Testament Church, God required that his people give 10% of their income to the work of the church. Today, in the New Testament Church, we are not bound to give any specific amount. However, 10% is helpful as a starting point for your thoughts or discussions about an amount to give. If God's people were able to give 10% of their income to the Church joyfully even though they did not know the details of Jesus' salvation, how much more can we joyfully give that amount or more since we know what Jesus has done for us!

Besides the online form on our "Give Now" page, you also can give in the following ways:

• REGULAR EFT - Many of our members have found it helpful to set up a regular transfer from their bank account. Most do this monthly or bi-weekly. This allows them to "set aside their firstfruits" every pay period and to make sure they never forget to give their offering. If you'd like to set this up, please send an e-mail to treasurer@crossoflife.net.
• INTERAC ETRANSFER - Send your etransfer to treasurer@crossoflife.net from your banking app.
• MAIL - You can mail a cheque to our church address, found at the bottom of this page.
• IN-PERSON - We receive an offering at every worship service. You can give a cheque or cash.
• OTHER - If you would like to give a gift, but none of the above options work for you, please send an e-mail to treasurer@crossoflife.net and we will coordinate with you.

God has given us all sorts of good things to share with others. Our time, our abilities, our connections, our non-financial resources, among other things. We definitely encourage you to use those things to serve others! However, Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:23) Therefore, we know that how we use our money is a tell-tale sign of what we already love. But we also know that putting our treasure into something can lead us to value it more! So, we strive to put our money into God's church and other people in order to lead our hearts to love those things even more!

Unless you designate an offering for a specific purpose, offerings go to support the costs of operating a worship facility, conducting ministry, funding salaries for staff, and saving for future needs. Additionally, we believe in also being generous as a church, so 10% of our annual budget is dedicated to supporting other churches across our church body. 

Occasionally, Cross of Life will also organize special offerings to support local organizations who are doing work that aligns with biblical values. These are announced in worship.

Cross of Life has a number of safeguards in place to make sure all funds are handled appropriately. These include, but are not limited to:

• Our budget and expenses are reviewed in an annual public meeting with the members of the congregation.
• All leadership team meetings where financials are discussed are open to any member of the congregation.
• An audit is performed regularly in cooperation with another church, Hope Lutheran in Toronto.