We are asking that you pray and seek God for how He wants you to respond. Prepare your heart to hear Him, and then listen to what He says. Talk with your spouse and your family about what this commitment will mean for this next season. Respond to the generosity of the gospel by giving extravagantly to the multiplication of the gospel to our neighbors, nations, and the next generation.

We are asking that everyone make an initial commitment for two years. The fulfillment period begins in April 2023 and will end in April 2025.

We’re excited you’ve chosen First McKinney as your church family. The local church is God’s plan for shaping us into the image of Christ and bringing the gospel to our neighbors and the world. Multiply is a great time to join the mission of First McKinney and say, “I’m all-in for the gospel.”

Multiplying Environments consists of a new student facility, replacing the HVAC system church-wide, creating a common space that connects the campus, and refreshing the FLC.

The current estimated cost is $24 million dollars with proposed funding as follows:

• $14 million dollars from Multiply pledges

• $3 million dollars from previous years’ surpluses

• $7 million dollars financed

We believe so! The Building Committee and Executive Committee have looked at scenarios forseveral months and spent many hours in prayer and in meetings seeking the Lord’s wisdom.

There is a unified excitement and trust that God wants us to move forward and that He will supply all our needs. This will require a step of faith corporately and individually, but we see this as an opportunity to grow in our discipleship.

During this two-year period, every contribution to God’s work through First McKinney is a contribution to our Multiply initiative. Every aspect of the ministry God is calling us toward will be funded through Multiply.

There will not be separate funds. Every gift made will go into the same Multiply fund. Therefore, every gift becomes an opportunity to celebrate and contribute to what God is doing in and through First McKinney as we give to multiply relationships, environments, and churches.

Be creative as you explore ways you and your family can give. Don’t overlook stored assets that you own. Gifts of appreciated property (stocks, real estate, mutual funds, jewelry, artwork, collectibles, etc.) often make great gifts with significant tax advantages. Please consult with a professional advisor for advice in your particular circumstance. If you need assistance with making a gift of property or stock, we would be delighted to help. You can contact our business office for questions and instructions.

Even in times of scarcity, God wants our hearts. The widow who gave her last mite did not make a very big financial contribution, but Jesus said she gave the largest gift of all. Multiply is about all of us coming together, giving generously, and trusting God to do the rest. It may mean that God is asking you to trust Him by making a faith commitment that you do not know how to fulfill right now. God has supplied our every need in Christ, and we trust that He will honor a heart that wants to give generously in response to the gospel. There may also be ways to be sacrificial with your lifestyle to create margin for generosity in your life. Find ways to involve the entire family and teach children to obey the Lord with a generous heart and to trust him. This is a great opportunity to take a look at our overall stewardship of all that God has entrusted to us.

It’s important for generosity to be a part of our lives at every point. If you are in the process of paying off debt, we commend you, and you should continue to do so. But, the Bible does not teach that we withhold giving until we are debt-free. When we honor God first with our giving, He promises to be involved with every other aspect of finances. We invite you to attend an upcoming session of Financial Peace University, where you will not only learn some great principles of personal finance, but also God’s perspective on our stewardship of his resources.

Knowing that we should give can be easy, but knowing how much to give presents a greater challenge. God has always had his people give the “firstfruits” of his provision back to him. Throughout the Old Testament, this took the form of the tithe. Approximately 400 years before the Law was given, both Abraham and Jacob offered the Lord a tithe of everything that he had given to them. The word “tithe” simply means “a tenth.” In response to the provision and the promise of God, these heroes of the faith offered the Lord not merely a tenth of their income but a tenth of everything God had given to them.

The Law codifies the principle of giving a tithe, but it also makes provision for peace offerings and freewill offerings to the Lord. Even the Law encouraged the people of God to exceed the minimum requirements of the Law!

Christ fulfilled the promise of the Law . This does not give us an excuse for no longer giving a tenth; rather, it should motivate us to give in grateful response to God. He keeps his promise and allows us the joy of being a part of his plan for meeting the needs of his people. In Acts, the Church did not allow a legalistic reading of the tithe to limit their generosity. Instead, they saw the immense needs among the Body of Christ and gave accordingly.

In short, “firstfruit giving” is a universal biblical principle. The tithe is a good place to start for many believers, but it is not a good place to stay. The principle that guides us as we give is this: “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 by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). The King of Kings left Heaven to give his life. So, how then shall we give?