is tithing really necessary to be a christian? Options

[cori-catastrophe]

we have been talking about tithing in my church for several weeks now. everyone in the church has had different arguments about tithing and how to deal with it. there is a scripture in the bible that says that you are supposed to give at least a tenth[ten percent] of your gross income to you church so that they can accomplish tasks that involve money to get more people involved in the church. some people in the church have said that tithing comes before anything else financial in your life. for example, if you are in debt, you still must give a tenth of your income to your church. but i'm not so sure. i understand that it says you should tithe to be a good christian, but some denominations emphasize tithing more than others so i'm not sure if it's that important to the church. if you are saving money for bible school, a missonary, ect. that would still be spreading the news of god, would you still have to give as much or any at all as far as that goes? some denominations also encourage it, but don't require it. if you need all of your income to take care of your kids, do you think that god would make you chose between your children dying or tithing. i think that in most cases god would provide the needed money. also, would giving money to christian charities be considered tithing as well? what do you think?