What in the frankincense is a tithe?
Tithing means giving the first 10% of your gross income to your local church. And it’s the biblical cornerstone of giving. Tithing is established in the Old Testament (Gen 14:20, Gen 28:20-22, Deut 26:1-2, 2 Chron 31:4-5), and it is reaffirmed by Jesus (Luke 11:42). The examples we have in scripture show tithe money supporting the work of the local faith community. In our context that equals the local church. We understand not everyone can start at a full tithe, but we encourage everyone to start somewhere to see how God uses giving to make lives extraordinary.
Give nowWhat we believe about giving
1. God owns everything.
God created the Earth and everything in it, including us (Gen 1), and therefore everything is his. This eternal truth must drive how we approach every aspect of our lives, including finances.
We strive to use what God has given us in ways that honor him, trusting that when we do so our lives will work better because we are operating more in line with how we were created. Also, the Bible teaches that “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). We recognize all the good things that God has done for us, and in gratitude we give out of the resources that he has entrusted to us.
Read more
Hide
2. Giving money is an act of faith in God and his promises.
Financial generosity demonstrates our belief and trust that God is good and that he is leading us to better places.
We don’t give based on worldly circumstances like how our financial portfolio is performing, or worldly concerns like how satisfied we are with the decisions that our church leadership makes. Instead, we faithfully give money away because we desire to honor, worship, and draw closer to the creator of the universe, in whom we place our trust (Matt 6:19-34). Also, the #1 way that the world distracts us from God and his goodness is with money. Jesus repeatedly and forcefully warns us about the power that money can have over our lives (Matt 6:19-24), therefore, we give to ensure money doesn’t corrupt us and we instead remain focused on the life-giving truth of Jesus.
Read more
Hide
3. The Bible sets the tithe as the cornerstone of financial giving.
The tithe is established in the Old Testament before the law is given(Gen 14:20, Gen 28:20-22, Deut 26:1-2, 2 Chr 31:4-5), and it is reaffirmed by Jesus (Luke 11:42).
Tithing means giving the first 10% of your gross income to your local church. Why the local church? The examples we have in scripture are of tithe money supporting the work of the local faith community, and in our context that equals the local church. Further, God has clearly used our local church, Crossroads, to reach people and change lives, including our own, so we acknowledge that by further investing in that entity. The tithe applies to any income level. With the tithe comes a promise of blessing from God (Mal 3:10). This promise doesn’t always mean we will be blessed financially, but it does always mean we will see more of God in our lives. Christians can genuinely debate whether the tithe is mandatory today, but what is not up for debate is Jesus’ call for all of his followers to go above and beyond norms to financially sacrifice for others (Matt 19:16-30), and the tithe is an excellent starting point with a strong biblical precedent.
Read more
Hide
4. Those who give money to Crossroads are considered part of the Crossroads team.
Those who engage with Crossroads, but don’t financially support Crossroads, are certainly part of our community but have not yet joined the team.
Jesus teaches, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). We reserve spots on the Crossroads team for those whose hearts are with God and the work he is doing through Crossroads. The kingdom of God advances through groups of people, and that is primarily done in our culture through the local church, so we pool our resources at Crossroads to aggressively pursue the mission that God gives to our team.
Read more
Hide
5. We recognize that growth takes time.
Many who give to Crossroads do so because they appreciate what the team is doing and they want to participate. We celebrate that as a good starting point, but if a person’s faith doesn’t develop beyond a Crossroads-driven motivation, we have failed.
We also understand that some people who are experimenting with financial generosity can’t jump straight to the tithe but must build towards the biblical precedent. We seek to meet people where they are, and we will do all we can to teach and encourage people throughout the journey, even if it takes time (Luke 19:1-10). Not only do we offer spiritual training, but we also offer basic financial counseling and coaching to help people create a firm financial foundation. Finally, Jesus frequently calls his followers to dedicate most or all of their resources to his work, and as one grows closer to Jesus, this often leads to giving financially above and beyond the tithe. This also means we get to experience a supernatural level of God’s presence and grace in our lives. We want that for everyone at Crossroads.
Read more
Hide
We give because God asks us to
God owns everything. He created the Earth and everything in it, including us (Gen 1). Therefore, we use what God gives us in ways that honor him. In doing so, we operate more in line with how we were created—and are rewarded with lives that reflect that. The Bible also teaches that “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). In gratitude, we use the resources that God gives us to further the work of His kingdom.
Financial generosity demonstrates our belief and trust that God is good and that he is leading us to better places. We don’t give based on worldly circumstances like how our financial portfolio is performing or worldly concerns like how satisfied we are with decisions of our church leadership. Instead, we faithfully give because we desire to honor, worship, and draw closer to the creator of the universe, in whom we place all of our trust (Matt 6:19-34). Therefore, when He asks us to give the first 10% back to him, we trust in his goodness and obey.
Finally, the #1 way that the world distracts us from God and his goodness is with money. Jesus repeatedly and forcefully warns us about the power that money can have over our lives (Matt 6:19-24). We give to ensure money doesn’t corrupt us and we instead remain focused on the life-giving truth of God.
Read More
Hide
Giving changes lives
Adam and Jodi
Experienced Jesus and what it means to have purpose because of generous giving that led to the purchase of Base Camp.
Nate and Roslyn
Were elevated in ways they couldn't imagine through many of the initiatives Crossroads supports like CityLink and the Wheels program.
Will
Found a church home at Crossroads and a community through groups that led to his baptism and a home away from home.
when you give, you are making a difference
Jesus calls all of his followers to go above and beyond norms to financially sacrifice for others (Matt 19:16-30). We pool our resources at Crossroads to aggressively pursue the mission that God gives to our team.

reaching friends in our own community
We run hard after our friends and neighbors with the goal of flipping cities by sharing the word of Jesus with and providing resources to our neighborhoods.

reaching people around the country
Whether it's investing in technology so people can access content about Jesus in a language they can understand, or deploying teams after a natural disaster, we're always pursuing people from coast to coast.

reaching people around the world
By partnering with on-the-ground organizations across the world and sending teams to provide support and manpower, we're sharing Jesus with people near and far.
where does it all go?
(click on the numbers for a brief description)
You can also check out 2018 Annual Report
Coffee, toilet paper, Kids Club and the water bill—this is the stuff that keeps the doors open at all our sites so people can meet up in person.
This is how we pay for all of the buildings that we use to serve our communities and reach tens of thousands of people every week.
Websites and apps are really complicated—this money fuels our digital development so we can also reach people who can’t step into a physical building.
This is what we spend making things like weekend experiences, articles, and podcasts to help people experience Jesus in creative ways.
This money fuels the behind the scenes work of understanding what's happening in our community, caring for people, and helping them grow.
Everybody's got bills to pay, and we're no different. These are the day-to-day costs of being an organization—everything from staff benefits to credit card or legal fees. These things are the critical structure that helps fulfill our mission.
We believe that God has called us to different projects all across the globe, and this money helps fuel those partners and initiatives.
This is money we spend to make our current properties more effective for the mission—things like adding onto a building, expanding a parking lot, or repainting a kids club room.
Ever packed a car for vacation? Then you know that any kind of "outside the normal" event requires investment. This money fuels camp experiences and land development where people can experience God in an outdoor environment.
giving fuels life change
The Far-Reaching Impact of generosity
In just three short years, the giving that came through the I'M IN campaign fueled major changes to impact our communities, our nation, and the world. Initiatives like merging with Central Kentucky, prison ministry, development of an app where prayers can be posted and prayed for, and much more were made possible by the generosity of our community. You'll never have to wonder if your giving made a difference.
REACHING FRIENDS IN OUR OWN CITIES
The crystal-clear mission of Crossroads has always been to reach our friends and neighbors and share the message of Jesus. It’s why we started in a rented schoolroom and haven’t stopped expanding to make room for everyone we possibly can. This expansion looks like on-site weekend experiences, digital messaging and robust channels, and infrastructure to build community from the ground up.
GIVING NEW POSSIBILITY TO THE WORKING POOR
Holistic change for the working poor means getting in the trenches—and that’s exactly what it looks like at CityLink Center in Cincinnati. After years of research and partnerships, CityLink Center is the culmination of how it looks to put holistic services around the individual who’s stuck in the cycle of poverty, in a way that creates lasting life change and generational hope.
Looking for help on how to manage your money?
Here's a list of some of our favorite resources. More resources coming soon.
Hear from Experts

Ask an Expert: Money
Money is hard, whether you have a lot or a little of it. Hear from James M. Lenhoff, President of Wealthquest and host of The Rich Life Podcast.
View all videosWatch messages on Finances
Money Hacks
Watch Money Hacks

Big Bad Wolf
Check out the series

Coaching & help
Find freedom in their finances
Sign up for Financial Peace University
Transform your finances and your life
Take the Financially Freed Up Living course with Good Sense
Teach your kids about money
Get Kids' Club videos, discussion guides, and tips for parents
Common FAQs about giving
What is tithing?
I'm in debt. Should I still help?
How does Crossroads protect financial data?
Crossroads does not store nor transmit any of your payment information through our servers nor store it in our database. Even though you may enter financial information on crossroads.net, we neither store nor transmit any credit card or bank account/routing information. All card information is processed solely by the aforementioned third party processor.
Since we do not store or transmit card/bank data, we are not required to hold PCI compliance. However, we value secure systems and have chosen to put security procedures in place to increase the security of crossroads.net and our community members’ data. We work with a PCI Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) to regularly scan our systems and are made aware of any security vulnerabilities.