People turn to their church for spiritual support and growth, but the church is also a place to pool resources to accomplish greater things than one person can accomplish alone.

In this Faith First, we look at tithing and the effects of giving your time, talents and treasure to the church.

Many worship, feed their spirits and give at church. It's tithes and offerings that help Beulah Grove Baptist Church and St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church accomplish their missions in the community.

“Out of tithing, we're able to build buildings, take care of the sick, finance part of the clinic across the street, food banks across the street and the senior citizen complex across the street,” Dr. Sam Davis, pastor of Beulah Grove Baptist Church, said.

“Everything is funded through the offerings. The school is funded through the offerings, the senior center, every single ministry is the recipient of the parishioners generosity on Sundays,” Sam Alzheimer, from Catholic Stewardship Consultants who worked with St. Mary on The Hill Catholic Church, said.

The English word “tithe” comes out of Greek and Hebrew words in scripture that mean "tenth," but some churches apply different guidelines to this scriptural 10 percent principle.

“The Catholic Church does not have a hard and fast rule about how much you should give, but we honor the tithe as a biblical benchmark. We ask people at the parish to give eight percent to the parish, one percent to the diocese and one percent to other charities,” Alzheimer said.

“Scripture gives us at least three forms of church financing: tithing, offering and sacrificial giving. Tithing is 10 percent of the gross, not the net; off the top 10 percent. Offering is to give beyond tithes. There’s no amount on that, whatever the spirit leads. Sacrificial giving is when you’re sowing a seed in a ministry where you recognize where God is working,” Dr. Davis said.

Church perspectives also differ on who can afford to tithe.

"We recognize that some people cannot afford to tithe. In fact, they need to be the recipient of our generosity. And there are other people who can afford to give more than ten percent,” Alzheimer said.

"Those that feel they can't afford to tithe are those that will remain in poverty the rest of their lives.” “The word says, ‘bring ye the tithes into the storehouse…and prove me, saith the Lord of hosts…and I will pour (you out a blessing).’ So those that don't believe, try His word and see," Dr. Davis said.

Believers say it's about much more than money.

“In the end, it's all about that person's relationship with God and how they're expressing that with their time with their talents and with their financial resources,” Alzheimer said.

“Tithing is not about money as much as it is about relationship. That's the point. And the relationship has to be accepted by faith when you accept a relationship with Christ, you step out on faith,” Dr. Davis said.

In many Christian churches, tithing is still voluntary, but is a strongly encouraged method of giving as part of stewardship.

Across religious lines, giving practices vary widely, too. Some give smaller percentages; while others focus offerings on seasons or for specific charities.