Why give to Harbor Online Community?
When most churches ask you to give, the reality is that a ton of the money goes to “keeping the lights on”—rent, maintenance, heat, air conditioning, and, well, keeping the actual lights on. Here at Harbor, we have none of that. This means we have a much smaller budget, most of which goes directly to people who are seeking care and support. Our donations cover:
1. Staffing
There is a clear message of fair work for fair pay in the Bible, so we pay our pastors for their work leading and caring for our community. They are all multi-vocational, so they each work a portion of their time at Harbor while we also benefit from the other work they do, such as Jon’s writing, Dottie’s neuroscience research, and Dawn’s creative practice.
“This group has seen me as I walk and trip and run in my life and has supported my search to know God all through.
Instead of having all the answers, we search for God together week by week.
Never have I been part of a more diverse, thoughtful, loving group of people, and seeking to follow Jesus with them has been a gift.”
—KJP in Pittsburgh, PA
2. Online infrastructure
We may not have a building, but we do pay for our online services. Why do we do this when so much is available for free? Because we value privacy and security. While our online infrastructure is not as costly as a building, we want to provide the best tools for connecting our widespread community easily and safely.
3. Justice Efforts
Our Harboring Justice team leads the Harbor community in specific ways to promote God’s justice and peace. While we may focus on a national or global justice issue, we look for concrete ways to make a difference in our individual neighborhoods and communities. Each year, a portion of our overall donations goes directly to justice partners who are working to undo systems of racism and other forms of oppression.
4. Meeting Needs
Sometimes people in our community fall on hard times. Like the early church that shared resources in order to care for their people in need, we want to come alongside Harbor folks when they’re hit with unforeseen crises. This kind of care happens organically, but we also have a formal mechanism to help people who feel helpless.
“At one point I was struggling financially. I didn’t even ask for help, and some folks in this community gave me a generous financial gift. Around the same time, my television broke (it wasn’t a good month), and another group member gave me a TV.
No church group has ever felt more caring and hospitable to me than this one.”
—Brett in Pittsburgh, PA