At Good News Church, we feel that it is very important that we explain to you not only what we do, but why we do what we do. In this article, we wanted to share with you why we do not pass an offering plate and instead have receptacles on each side of the main room.

1. We desire to be sensitive to visitors. It is not difficult to understand how the act of handing a visitor a plate that is designed for the collection of money could be interpreted as a fundraising effort on someone’s very first visit. We do not expect people who are visiting to feel that they must contribute to our church. We feel that responsibility falls on the people who call this church their church.
2. It reflects our theology of worship. Sometimes when people hear about a church not passing an offering plate, a few people will say things like: “But I like to give my money during the Sunday morning service as an act of worship.” This makes sense, but misses out on part of the definition of worship. At Good News, we do not believe that our “worship” takes place on Sunday mornings from 10:30am - 11:45am. That is just when we all gather together. Worship, according to the Bible, is the act of honoring God by offering to Him your body (all that you are) every single day of the week (see Romans 12:1). Worship is more of a lifestyle than a service. Therefore, we do not feel that the giving of an offering must take place during a Sunday morning service, but can take place anytime (before the service, after the service, or even throughout the week if someone would rather give online.)
3. It is Biblical. If you look through the Old and New Testaments, you will find several mentions of giving, but there is no direct mention of the passing of a plate in a worship service. In fact, there are times in the Bible where we read about God’s people putting their money into some sort of receptacle much like how we do it here at Good News (see 2 Kings 12:9-12 and Luke 21:1-2). I am not saying that our way is the only biblical way, but it is certainly a biblical way to collect offerings.