Where Should the Pastor and the Pastor's Pastor and So On, Pay Their Tithe?
1) Direct Answer
- Every believer pays tithes to the storehouse where he is fed the Word—his own pastor.
- A pastor also pays tithes. He does not keep his own tithe. He sends his tithe to the minister who feeds him the Word, the one who pastors him, or faithfully into the Gospel work through a proven minister.
- The “pastor’s pastor, and so on” simply follows the same order. It stops where a man is actually being fed. Christ is our High Priest; the tithe supports His ministry on earth, not an endless ladder or a headquarters.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house” (Malachi 3:10). The tithe goes where the spiritual meat is served.
- “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things” (Galatians 6:6). Tithe follows the one who teaches you.
- “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13–14). God ordains the ministry to live by the tithe.
- “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine… The labourer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:17–18). The preaching elder is to be supported.
- In the Old Testament pattern the Levites received tithes, and the Levites themselves gave “a tithe of the tithes” unto the Lord’s service (Numbers 18:21–28; Nehemiah 10:37–39). That shows ministers also tithe onward.
- Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:1–8). That points to Christ, our High Priest, receiving tithes through His ministry.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Now notice: the tithe is not for buildings, boards, or programs first; it is for the ministry that brings you the Word. Where you eat is where you tithe.
- You see, a pastor is also taught and strengthened by ministry. So he pays his tithe to the one who truly feeds him or places it faithfully into the active Gospel ministry—not back to himself.
- There is no Scripture for a man tithing to himself, nor for sending tithes to an office that does not feed him. The Bible ties tithing to the storehouse and to the one who teaches.
- So the order is simple and consistent: the flock to their pastor; the pastor to the minister who pastors him or the Gospel work that nourishes him; and it all culminates in Christ’s service, not a human chain without end.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Keep it clean and biblical: tithe where you receive the Word. Let the laborer live by the Gospel, and let even the laborer honor God with his own tithe. That’s the order the Bible sets.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Who do you say this is?
64-1227 §58
Now, Eve wasn't sure. Adam told her, said, "Now, God said, Honey, 'that the day you eat thereof, that day you die.' " But he said ... Satan said, "Surely that can't be right. You imagine a Father would treat his children... Just a little kind of a thing like that. Surely it ain't so," see. And what did she finally turn? She turned to the "surely." And that's just exactly what the church does today, exactly. "Oh, surely... We're a great church. We're a great people. We been a long time... All this stuff that they ca...
Church Order
63-1226 §51
QUESTION: Brother Branham ... (There's three ... two questions on this card here). Brother Branham, what should be the policy of taking up offerings in the church for people? How should this be done? I think taking up offerings in the church for people should not be done unless it's for your pastor. And I think if someone comes in for charity, or something like that that... Or someone in bad need, like one of our members here our congregation, say if one of our brothers, and they have some trouble; well, I think th...
Balm in Gilead
61-0218 §43
"Go tell him he's not coming off of that bed. 'Thus saith the Lord,' he's not coming off of the bed. He's going to die on the bed," and he did. So, when the messengers came back down to King Ahaziah, he said (Ahab's son), so he said to him, he said, "What are you doing back so early?" He said, "We met a man up there that said tell you 'Thus saith the Lord, what'd you send over there for? Is there no prophet in Israel to consult? Isn't there no God down here in Israel? You have to send over there to the heathens?' "...
Lifting Him up out of history
58-1001 §19
Let's take church life. There is where it all began. Church life is running out. The people just take the church today almost for an idol, like a totem pole. Go sit in church five minutes, and "I've done my religion." Pay in your little contribution, whatever it is, to pay the pastor; and they don't make that up, they have a little supper and make it up to the pastor; and if he ain't satisfied, he hauls off to somewhere that'll give him a better wage. Seems like the pastor is not divinely called anymore. Just seems...
Let us see God
59-1129 §12
But, you know, I feel like this, that a member of a church, their first obligation is for their tithe and offerings, is to support their church. If you are members of these fine churches that's represented here, you support your church. That's your first duty to God. "Bring your tithe and offerings into the storehouse." And the storehouse, you surely know what that is, it's where you get your food. So, that's where you get your spiritual food, and your obligation is to your church and not to an evangelist like me....