In January 2012, CNN gave a positive report about young Christians who are fighting against human trafficking. Over 42,000 young people, mostly college students, gathered in Atlanta for an event focused on worship and the abolition of sex trafficking. CNN seemed impressed that these young Christians didn't just sing praise songs; they also gave money to help end the horrors of human trafficking. The video-version of the article even showed a young person pulling $50 out of her purse. Another shot displayed a cash register ringing up $50. It was definitely an impressive scene and overall they were trying to raise one million dollars.

But now let's imagine two fictitious characters behind the headlines. Let's say the first character is a 27-year-old named Luke. He has a job, but he spends most of his money on Starbucks and new clothes and entertainment. He attended the stadium event, God truly moved in his life, and decided to write a check for 50 bucks. CNN says, "Can you believe that?" and they splash it on the news. After all, it's a great cause and Luke did give $50.

But now consider a second imaginary character: another 27-years-old named Jason. Jason is also passionate about ending human trafficking, but he wasn't at the big event because he teaches second-grade Kids' World at his church. Jason is also a regular and anonymous tither. He makes $36,000 a year, which means that he gives $3,600 a year to God's work around the world. That's about $300 a month, or about $75 a week.

Even though Jason's weekly tithe won't make headline news, throughout the year he supports lots of worthy causes. [Pastors, feel free to add specific examples that will make sense to your church.] His tithe helps pay the salary for the youth pastor who hangs out with saved and unsaved middle school kids, shaping their young lives. Jason's tithe also helped support the church's medical team that just left for Nicaragua. He knows that his church has a Celebrate Recovery program on Friday night that's trying to free people from their addictions. And he knows that his church regularly reaches people from the community who hear the good news of Jesus. Jason is never going to be on CNN, but Jason is a hero. Over the long run, tithers are the folks who really make things happen so churches can meet people's physical and spiritual needs.