If you’re a believer, then you give financially at some level (even if that level is nothing at all). As followers of Jesus, we’re continually called to take the next step in our faith, including in our level of giving. Below are the five levels of giving in a believer’s spiritual life. Which level are you, and what’s the next level God is calling you to go to in faith?

Taking  – At this level you don’t give to God at all. You’ve never really invested in anything other than yourself. Every time you go to church, you’re taking. People are investing in you, in your children, providing them with programs, sending them to camp, but you’ve never contributed. You don’t give. You take.

Tipping – Tippers don’t really want to give to God but feel obliged whenever a preacher or a cause guilts them into doing something. When tippers see the offering plate coming down the aisle, they immediately begin to hear the theme music to the Jaws movie as they dig furiously into their purses or wallets, hoping to pull out a $1 bill but they’ll settle for a $5. Tippers usually spend more on lattes each week than they invest in the Kingdom of God, which is insulting when you think about it.

Trusting – This level happens when a believer begins to start giving to God on a regular and consistent basis. They begin to trust God. They set an amount and a time and they give to God because they’ve set their hearts on it. An incredible tool for this step is online automatic giving, which most churches have now. The amount may only be a small percentage of their income, but they’re trusting with that on a regular basis.

Threshold giving – Threshold giving is what happens when we trust God enough to give at a level where things start to happen. God asks us to trust him with a tithe (which literally means a tenth) of our income. When we tithe 10% of our income to the local church, we reach a threshold in giving where God begins to work in powerful ways. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10)

Transformational giving – This level isn’t for everyone. God asks all believers to tithe, but he’s gifted some with the ability to give beyond that. Some believers have been given the ability to make money so that they can invest it exclusively in the Kingdom. For some believers, they’ve been tithing for decades and it doesn’t require faith anymore. God may be saying, “If I’ve blessed you this much when you trusted me with 10% of your income, how much more could I bless you if you trusted me with 12% or 13% or 14%?” Transformational givers can positively impact the Kingdom in transformational ways.

What’s your current level of giving? Are you willing to trust God and go to the next level?