We know the good we’re capable of, we know we have it in us to act as Jesus would, to respond with thanks and generosity to all we have… Yet how do we square that desire to be open-hearted and open-handed with the need to tighten our belts knowing that January’s post includes the credit cards bills and bank statements showing our Christmas spending?
15 years ago, the third Monday of January was dubbed ‘the most depressing day of the year’. Ever since, people across the globe (or at least the internet) became aware of the phrase ‘Blue Monday’.
A New Year brings new excitement, expectation and opportunity; it can also be a pretty difficult time.
So often in Christian ministry there is a gap.
It’s a gap between the vision God has called someone into and the support that allows it to flourish. At best the gap is a hazard that gets in the way of a ministry reaching its full potential; at worst it is a yawning chasm that threatens to swallow up the vision entirely.
Surely that’s a bit melodramatic you might be thinking? Actually, no.
The Stewardship Giving Account has a brand new look! It's been completely redesigned to provide users with a smarter, simpler online giving experience. For the first time it offers compatibility across all mobile devices.
We would like to pass on a HUGE thank you to everyone who gave in our MISSION: Christmas Appeal.
Your generosity has meant that we have been able to raise an incredible total of £440,800! This means we were able to give £200 additional support to over 2000 of our full-time Christian Workers.
I love giving presents, don’t you? If you’re anything like me you can’t wait to see the look on your relatives’ faces when they open the gift that you have picked for them on Christmas Day. You may even be far more excited about this than the prospect of opening your own presents. If you’re nodding along, then you’re one of the good guys. We selfless gift-givers are all about other people. We are the poster children for the Christian virtue of charity, right? Wrong. Because according to some top anthropologists and sociologists, we could be the most selfish of the lot because our gift-giving is in fact motivated by self-interest.
We can see the benefits of teamwork in many areas of charity and particularly church life. Teams normally exist in youth work, evangelism, worship, etc., so why is it that when it comes to finance and governance we often ditch the team model and leave one poor soul to go it alone?! At Stewardship, we see real benefit in building the finance team, and here’s why.
The Charity Commission probably issues two to three inquiry reports each week on churches and charities that they believe have a serious problem with their governance and finances. Time and again issues arise when payments are made to trustees. So what can we learn?
Legacies are an increasingly important source of funding for UK churches and charities. Smee & Ford’s Legacy Trends 2019 revealed that UK charities had received over £3 billion of legacy income in the previous year, with places of worship being the most popular cause for a sole bequest.
There are a number of valuable VAT reliefs for construction of buildings that are to be used for a ‘relevant charitable purpose’. Churches are one of the most frequent benefactors of these reliefs and VAT can be a significant proportion of project costings. Churches therefore need to be aware of the reliefs that are available and the limitations of those reliefs.
blogs by the Stewardship team and selected guest writers.
Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited. Established in 1906.
Registered charity no. 234714, and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 90305.
Registered office: 1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB
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