The practice of making regular contributions to the church in accordance with a predetermined plan. In its general meaning it represents the principle of denominational financing followed from the 1850s to the present. As a specific term it applied specifically to the method of financing denominational evangelistic work until the late 1870s, when the present system of tithes and offerings was recommended and generally adopted.
Financing the Early Work. The early preachers of Seventh-day Adventist doctrines were largely self-supporting. They conducted their work on faith without any financial backing except that of their own resources or occasional gifts of well-wishers and fellow believers. Joseph Bates had used up his own savings in his work of spreading the knowledge of the Millerite doctrines. James White worked on the railroad hauling stone, in the hayfields, and elsewhere to earn money to support his family and to travel in behalf of the message.
The gifts to the work were irregular and were proportionate to the generosity rather than the income of the donor. Some who could afford to give much gave only a little, while some who had little sacrificed their all for the cause. Matilda Erickson Andross has recorded, among several other incidents, that one widow sold her cottage so that the Adventist message could be preached to others (Story of the Advent Message, p. 209). A number of adherents sold their farms in order to give money for the cause.
As the work entered new areas, especially after 1854, when tents were first used for evangelistic meetings and attracted large audiences, more and more ministers were called for, and a regular means of support for the full-time workers became necessary. Moreover, after a spurt of liberal giving about the time the work of the ministry was first definitely recognized and credentials were issued to ministers in the field, contributions noticeably decreased in 1856–1857. In 1856 such influential ministers as J. N. Loughborough and J. N. Andrews were engaged in carpentry and other kinds of secular employment to earn a living.
Systematic Benevolence Principle Introduced. The lack of means for evangelism led to the formation in April of 1858 of a Bible class conducted by J. N. Andrews in Battle Creek to study the biblical principles of support of the ministry. The group came to the conclusion that regular and proportional giving was the ordained method of the Bible. They recommended a plan of ‘Systematic Benevolence’ on the tithing principle.”
The plan received enthusiastic support, and in January 1859 it was adopted by the Battle Creek church: “The Battle Creek Church assembled Jan. 16th, in the evening, to consider the subject of a System of Benevolence which would induce all to do something to sustain the cause of the present truth, and thereby fully sustain the cause, and at the same time relieve some who have given beyond their real ability” ( Review and Herald 13:84, Feb. 3, 1859).
At the same meeting the church voted to issue to the other churches an address inviting their participation in the plan. It recommended specific amounts to be pledged each week, according to the ability of the donor, by each member from 18 to 60 years of age, from 5 to 20 cents for men and from 2 to 10 cents for women; and for those who owned property, from 1 to 5 cents for every $100 of its value.
This plan was modified somewhat at the General Conference session in June of that year, which suggested different amounts for donations, between 2 and 25 cents for men and between 1 and 10 cents for women, besides the contribution in proportion to property.
A tenth was not mentioned in the 1859 plan as the suggested rate of contribution, but that came by the end of 1860. However, at that time it applied only to income from property. In the fifth issue of the Good Samaritan, a s hort-lived paper promoting “Systematic Benevolence, our duty to the poor, &c.,” the suggestion was made: “We propose that the friends give a tithe, or tenth of their income, estimating their income at ten percent on what they possess” (quoted in an inquiry in Review and Herald 17:164, Apr. 9, 1861; 10 percent was apparently the going rate for interest on savings). This was further explained by James White thus: “We meant just what the churches are adopting in Michigan; viz., They regard the use of their property worth the same as money at ten percent. This ten percent they regard as the increase of their property. A tithe of this would be one percent, and would be nearly two cents per week on each one hundred dollars, which our brethren, for convenience sake, are unanimous in putting down” ( ibid. ).
In addition, White suggested that those who owned no property give “personal donations.” It is not clear whether this also was mentioned in the Good Samaritan. White reported that the church at Monterey, Michigan, at a conference held Dec. 28 and 29, 1860, “came up to the figures in the illustration in Good Samaritan, No 5” ( ibid. 17:72, Jan. 15, 1861). On Jan. 17, 1861, this plan was proposed to the Battle Creek church, and White hoped that “all will probably cheerfully come up to the figures” suggested at this meeting ( ibid. 17:80, Jan. 22, 1861).
The plan of Systematic Benevolence was endorsed by Ellen White, who about that time repeatedly urged the members to a greater sacrifice and liberality toward the cause. She wrote in 1857: “The least that has been required of Christians in past days, is to possess a spirit of liberality, and to consecrate to the Lord a portion of all their increase. Every true Christian has considered this a privilege. . . . But Christians who are living in the last days, and who are waiting for their Lord, are required to do even more than this. God requires them to sacrifice” ( 1T 170).
She wrote more in 1859: “I was pointed back to the days of the apostles, and saw that God laid the plan by the descent of His Holy Spirit, and that by the gift of prophecy He counseled His people in regard to a system of benevolence. All were to share in this work of imparting of their carnal things to those who ministered unto them in spiritual things” ( 1T 190).
Early in 1863 one tenth as the minimum contribution was suggested through the pages of the Review and Herald. The writer, presumably James White, said: “The children of Israel were required to give a tithe, or tenth, of all their increase . . . [here are given OT references]. And it cannot be supposed that the Lord requires less of His people when time is emphatically short, and a great work is to be accomplished in the use of their means in giving the last merciful message to the world” ( Review and Herald 21:45, Jan. 6, 1863).
Through the 1860s and early 1870s, the notion of one tenth of income from every source as the base of systematic giving appeared more and more frequently. Already in 1875 this principle was becoming apparent to the membership, as is seen from the following letter that appeared in the Review and Herald: “Will you please tell me what S.B. [Systematic Benevolence] really is? For instance, if I earn $1.00 a day, 10 cts. of that belongs to God. Does that 10 cts. belong to the S.B.? or can I give 5 cts. to S.B. and the rest to the cause as I may see fit?” (47:21, Jan. 20, 1876).
The explanation given by Uriah Smith did not yet affirm the one tenth of all income as the proper tithe. He rather held to the older method of systematic giving. But only a few weeks later, in February 1876, D. M. Canright wrote with certainty of the S.B. plan that “God requires that a tithe, or one-tenth, of all the income of His people shall be given to support His servants in their labors,” and that “one-tenth is the Lord’s” ( ibid. 47:50, Feb. 17, 1876, and 47:65, Mar. 2, 1876). Only the indigent and those without income were free to abstain or to contribute an amount of their choice.
At the first special session of the General Conference, held in March 1876, the view that one tenth of all income was to be devoted to the work of the gospel prevailed and the following resolutions were adopted unanimously: “ Resolved, That we believe it to be the duty of all our brethren and sisters, whether connected with churches or living alone, under ordinary circumstances, to devote one-tenth of all their income from whatever source, to the cause of God. And further,
“ Resolved, That we call the attention of all our ministers to their duty in this important matter to set it plainly and faithfully before all their brethren and urge them to come up to the requirements of the Lord in this thing” ( ibid. 47:108, Apr. 6, 1876).
The regular session of the General Conference of that year affirmed the principle of one tenth of the income ( ibid. 48:106, Oct. 5, 1876). However, it was not widely adopted immediately.
Two years later, at the General Conference session of October 1878, it was recommended that the system of pledging a fixed amount weekly be replaced by a pledge of one tenth of all income, and that each conference and institution pay a tenth of its income to the General Conference ( ibid. 52:188, Dec. 12, 1878). A committee was appointed to prepare a new pamphlet on “the Scriptural plan of Systematic Benevolence,” and this was announced as ready the same month, under the title Systematic Benevolence, 72 pages. It was based largely, with additions, on an article in the Review and Herald (48:169–171, Nov. 30, 1876), which was a revision of Canright’s earlier article of Feb. 17 and Mar. 2, 1876.
In December 1878 the General Conference Committee recommended that beginning with the first week in 1879, members throughout the world sign the following pledge: “We, the undersigned, believing that the Holy Scriptures require each person to give for the support of the ministry one-tenth of all that the Lord shall give him or her, do hereby solemnly pledge ourselves in the sight of God, and in the presence of each other, to faithfully set apart each week one-tenth of all that the Lord shall give us, this tenth to be paid into the systematic benevolence treasury at least once a quarter” ( ibid. 52:188, Dec. 12, 1878).
In the special General Conference session in the spring of 1879, it was noted that many deferred taking out their tithe until the end of the quarter and then had difficulty in paying it. Therefore the following resolution was passed: “Resolved, That all our brethren and sisters should regard it their duty to tithe all their income at the time they receive it” ( ibid. 53:133, Apr. 24, 1879).
This tenth was considered a rendering to the Lord of His own, for “the tithe is the Lord’s” ( Lev. 27:30 ), and the phrase “tithe and offerings” as including freewill offerings over and above the tithe. To provide for local church expenses and for special projects—such additional offerings as the “one-third” (that is, of the S.B.) were suggested in 1876 for the tract and missionary society. Later came the Sabbath school offering for missions, and other offerings ( see Church Calendar ; Sabbath School Offerings ).
Administration and Disbursement of S.B. A thorough administration of the S.B. plan was established from the very beginning. The churches elected treasurers whose duty it was to record all pledges in “S.B. books” and to collect them weekly or quarterly. Before conferences were organized, scattered individuals were encouraged to send their pledges to the General Conference to be applied to the general expenses of the work.
At first the churches had complete control over the disposition of their S.B. funds. However, in 1861 it was clearly stated in the Review and Herald (18:32, June 18, 1861) that the funds were intended for the support of the ministry.
When the newly organized General Conference prepared a model constitution for the state conferences in 1863, it appears that it was taken for granted that the proceeds of systematic benevolence would constitute the basis for conference finances, and it was so stated in Article III.
In 1864 the churches in Wisconsin and Illinois voted to send all of their S.B. funds to the conference treasury, if at all possible. In 1876 Canright wrote: “Legitimately every cent of the S.B. should be used for the support of the ministry; but all our churches have fallen into the habit of reserving a small share of their S.B. to pay their sexton, buy oil, etc.” ( ibid. 47:67, Mar. 2, 1876).
For other articles dealing with church finance, see Budget ; Church Calendar ; Financial Policies ; Sabbath School Offerings ; Tithe .