Early in our marriage, rent ate half our income.

At the end of one of our first months living together, we had $35 total left for a week’s worth of groceries.

Christine was stressed. (Totally understandable.) I started building a compelling, highly spiritual case for “maybe we skip giving this month.”

Christine cut through my rationalization with five words: “Of course we are tithing.”

That moment kick-started a lifelong journey into generosity. And here’s the honest headline: we’ve received more through generosity than we ever imagined we’d “lose” by giving.

So no, money isn’t some awkward side topic we avoid like a seventh-grade sex talk. It’s discipleship, it’s spiritual formation, and the way you handle it matters.

Bad money preaching feels like a timeshare pitch; good money teaching changes lives.

And yet many churches go quiet. A recent poll found about a quarter of churches don’t teach on generosity at all. Silence is also a sermon; it just lets culture preach.

If you’re not talking about money, Amazon, Amex, and Apple are happy to.

If you won’t preach discipleship of dollars, Prime, points, and payments will.

The Rich Young Ruler isn’t a “rich guy” dunk; it’s a mirror. Money threatens to become identity, security, and scorecard. Jesus’ money talk isn’t fundraising …it’s heart surgery.

The church can’t heal what it won’t name.

And here’s a reality check on tithing language in the pews: only 21% of Christians say they give 10% or more to their church; among practicing Christians, the figure rises to 42%, but it’s still not a majority.

Clear, confident teaching matters.

So, here’s the deal: if less than half of your people are tithing, and you’re still allergic to talking about money, you’ve basically handed the keys of financial discipleship to TikTok finance bros and credit card companies.

The antidote? Stop reinventing the wheel and learn from churches already doing this well. Rip their best moves, pivot them for your context, and jam until it sticks. The following five examples aren’t theory; they’re field-tested, congregation-shaping strategies that actually move the needle.

These aren’t “talks about money.” They’re systems that pair sermons with scaffolding—tools, prompts, groups, and follow-up. (Yes, steal this.) The summaries below draw on their public resources and the field notes you provided.

Crossroads treats Malachi 3 like a lab: 90-Day Tithe Test, with public invitations, clear sign-ups, and—this is key—a refund guarantee if participants don’t sense God’s provision in that period. It’s not just a sermon; it’s an experiment with a feedback loop. They’ve also publicly talked about the tithe test/refund in weekend content: “we will refund your entire amount of money [after 90 days, if you don’t see God meet your needs].” They share stories from people who have participated and invite people to join in.

Why it’s smart

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Liquid runs a 90-Day Tithe Challenge with a money-back guarantee, reinforced by weekly videos/emails, budgeting workshops, and practical content across their site. Start here: “Give Generously” (challenge + guarantee). See also “The Blessing of Generous Livin’” and a sampling of debt/finance helps that continually point back to the challenge (e.g., How to Get Out of Debt, Keys to Financial Freedom).

Why it’s smart

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They invited a small, concrete step: “Add $10/week to your tithe.” Small enough to be doable; specific enough to be measurable. And they framed it theologically as “worship in motion.” Series overview and message page.

Why it’s smart

Steal this

They made a money series so simple it could fit on a T-shirt:

Each talk is a sticky, single idea, reinforced through YouVersion devotionals and group courses like Financial Peace (FPU). The series index is available, featuring individual message pages: Making Change overview, Less Is More, Stress Is Bad, Giving Is Good, and Tomorrow Matters.

Why it’s smart

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They named the water we’re swimming in: skyrocketing consumer debt + low financial literacy, and then they built a resource hub (worksheets, tools), ran workshops, and launched Financial Freedom groups. Start here: Uncommon Cents series hub

Why it’s smart

Steal this

Pastors often avoid discussing money for understandable reasons, such as fear of appearing self-interested, not wanting to trigger shame, or because it wasn’t covered in seminary.

But the bigger risk is malpractice by omission. Barna shows that only a fraction of Christians intentionally tithe; Stewardship’s polling reveals that churches rarely address generosity. People are already being formed—just not by Jesus.

If your church won’t disciple people’s wallets, don’t be shocked when Wall Street does.