« Back to Issue 18

Your Money or Your Life - The Real Implications of Christian Giving

By Alun Brookfield.

All attempts to write about Christian stewardship are doomed to superficiality, because, if we define stewardship as "The response which the Church and men and women are called to make to God for all that he has given to us and done for us, above all in Jesus Christ"1 , then all of Christian discipleship has a stewardship element within it. The very first command given to Adam and Eve was about stewardship of the earth (Genesis 1.28). Virtually every other command, teaching, law and precept in Scripture has a stewardship aspect to it - stewardship of the community, of relationships, of the earth, of the poor, of money, of produce, of the temple and of the church - to name but a few.

Inevitably then, one has to be selective about which aspects of stewardship one writes. And if one then talks about money, as I intend to, the reader may be forgiven for rolling his eyes, leaning back in the armchair and falling asleep.

But I do beg you, dear reader, to press on, for the reality is that we need the people in our churches to grasp the importance of stewardship of our financial resources because nothing in the kingdom of God on earth happens without a financial cost. People, buildings, equipment, time, care, charity, refreshments, heating, lighting, planning, designing, publishing, administration - all cost money. Even a prayer meeting has a price tag.

Of course, we have no problem grasping this in the context of the rest of our lives. If we fail to pay the electricity bill, we fail to receive electricity. If we want to eat in a restaurant, we have to pay the price asked for, or eat elsewhere. We understand perfectly well that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

But when we come to church, there seems often to be an expectation that everything will be laid on either without charge or at minimal cost, assuming that someone else will pay for it. After a year as a Diocesan Stewardship Adviser, I have had the same strange experience on a number of occasions, of sitting with a group of people who are telling me that they cannot ask their congregation to contribute more than about £2.00 per person per week towards the running of the church. The usually unnoticed irony is that, during the course of the meeting, we have probably consumed more than that value per person in a variety of refreshments, heating and paperwork, not to mention my time and travelling costs!

The reality is that most congregations do not see the need to do more than support the status quo. Their sole aim is to ensure that the same services are still being held one year from now. In effect they are funding the church, not for mission or growth, but for maintenance. Sadly, they are driven by the size of their vision!

I say that, not to shame anyone, but to point up the seriousness of the challenge. The situation may be less severe in many Free Churches, where there is often a tradition of sacrificial giving built up over many decades, but in the Church of England, in trying to come to terms with the fact that the Church Commissioners are now only contributing 16% of costs (compared to 70% 25 years ago), and in spite of achieving a near miracle by creating a culture of Christian giving almost from scratch, we still have a long way to go.

So let me offer some practical suggestions for increasing the sacrificiality of Christian giving which may be of value to both Anglican and Free Church readers.

Funding for growth, not maintenance or decline

First, it is important to enable the people to see a glimpse of a possible future which is more and bigger than the present. The vision has to be enlarged if the giving is to be increased. If they are giving in order to maintain the church, giving (and the church) will gradually decline. If they see the church as a lost cause in the long term, giving (and the church) will almost certainly disappear! Funding for maintenance and/or decline is simply not an acceptable option. Funding for growth and development is the only viable option.2

There is therefore a need to concentrate not so much on survival as on thriving. Churches with no financial worries are usually thriving churches, exhibiting strong signs of health and life, even if they are not increasing numerically. Even the smallest congregation can be a healthy one.

So when I visit parishes, I encourage them to dream dreams and see visions, to believe that, however few or many, they are God's chosen people for that parish and that, if we believe in a God who does not make mistakes, then those same people have within them all the gifts, talents, skills and resources to be the kingdom of God in that place.

On several occasions, I have met finance committees who are fretting about a likely shortfall in their income and have been able to point out to them that an additional £1.50 or less per person per week would give them all the money they need to pay their bills and fulfil a few of their dreams. Again and again I have watched the lights come on in their eyes as they have realised that it is achievable and they have then begun to plan for the future, often with a degree of creativity which has surprised themselves!

Then people start to give sacrificially, just as they often do in other areas of their lives. Parents will almost beggar themselves to enable children to attend university. Young people will run themselves into debt in order to buy the guitar of their dreams. One day, the Christians in the United Kingdom will begin to beggar themselves in order to see the church of their dreams rise from the ashes of recent decline.

Affirming the generous

Second, I believe it is essential to affirm those who are already generous enough to commit a regular amount of their income to the church on a regular basis, for whatever reason and however much or little. People who have committed themselves to an envelope scheme, a standing order and/or a covenant deserve to be thanked regularly and given the opportunity to amend (not necessarily increase) their giving in the light of changed circumstances - both theirs and the church's. Without this, there is a strong likelihood that some will grow weary in well doing.

Apart from anything else, this, it seems to me, is simply common courtesy. Yet it amazes me how few churches do it. Even more amazing, experience shows that the vast majority of people, given an expression of gratitude and an opportunity to adjust their giving, increase it. So the church is not only committing an act of negligent discourtesy, it is also missing out on some valuable income.

It is important to stress, however, that it is extremely discourteous in our culture to write asking such generous souls to give more. Such discourtesy often has the inevitable impact of reducing giving. Far better to offer the option of adjustment, so that people feel that their response is free and cheerful rather than constrained and grudging.3

Challenging the passengers

Third, it is important to recognise that anyone who attends a church without contributing to it is a drain on resources. That is fine if those people are unable to contribute, but if they are able, but unwilling, there is a problem, because it means that the willing few are supporting the unwilling many.

One parish had a thriving Sunday morning congregation of people coming from outside the parish for a particular type of service. They were putting a pound in the plate when the collection came around, but the net cost to that parish of each of those extra-parochial worshippers was nearer to £6.50 per week. So it became necessary to gently challenge them individually about their giving.

Part of this challenge involves helping people to see that regular giving is not as onerous as it can seem. Withdrawal from an envelope scheme is always an available option as is reducing or ceasing a covenant. When I was made redundant a couple of years ago, we lost nearly two thirds of our income for a short time. We immediately drew up plans to reduce our giving in line with the reduction in our income. That option is perfectly valid for anyone facing reduced circumstances.

Challenging the newcomers

Fourth, it is sadly possible in many of our churches for people to attend for months and even years without anyone mentioning the subject of giving. The minister never preaches on it, the treasurer is too shy to talk about it and there is no process of Christian nurture within which the subject could be raised without embarrassment.

If ministers find giving to be a difficult subject on which to preach, then let them find someone else to do it. In the Church of England, for example, Diocesan Stewardship Advisers are very happy to do so!

And if treasurers are too shy to speak to newcomers about their giving, then let them recruit someone else to do it. Most churches will have someone with the gift of being able to 'ask for the moon' without offending. It is important to identify those people and set their gifts free. One treasurer of my acquaintance, who looks like a harmless elderly lady, stands smiling at the church door handing out the gift envelopes at the beginning of each year. As a result, without fail every year, she finds people come up to her, saying, "I've been meaning to ask to join the envelope scheme. Please can I have a set?" In that way, she recruits 3-4 new planned donors each year.

The wider issue of discipleship

However, this is the point at which giving begins to impinge on much wider aspects of Christian discipleship. Processes such as Emmaus: the Way of Faith and programmes such as the Alpha course have the benefit of raising a wide range of issues of Christian lifestyle (and therefore stewardship in its widest meaning) at a very early stage in the experience of new believers, and for that they are to be commended. The question is not whether you approve of either Emmaus or Alpha, but if you do not, then what process of Christian nurture do you offer to your newcomers? Baptismal and confirmation classes are a start, but they are no more than that. Attending church Sunday by Sunday is valuable in all sorts of ways, but it could scarcely be claimed that attendance in church constitutes a coherent and thorough process of discipling. Worse, it is much easier to deflect any challenge contained in a Sunday sermon than it is within the intimacy of a small group, with the result that many people's patterns of giving go unchallenged.

It has been well said that only disciples of the king will give sacrificially for the sake of the kingdom. And therein lies the challenge of stewardship. The people who hold their possessions lightly and give them freely for the sake of the kingdom are those who have caught something of the vision of the kingdom and what it could be if only it were adequately resourced. And if we're honest, we will not be able to contribute to the building of the kingdom when we have left this mortal earth, so we might as well do it now.

One of the delights of my job is that I am regularly surprised by the strength of discipleship in our congregations. A Vicar told me recently of how, facing a minor financial crisis, he offered the parish a range of options as to how to deal with the situation, including a stewardship campaign and fundraising activities. The congregation chose to pray. He confessed to me that he thought this was the classic case of using prayer as a 'cop-out', a way of avoiding the issue. But as they met to pray, the people were challenged within about their giving. The resulting increase in giving solved the immediate crisis and provided sufficient additional income to begin to fulfil some dreams.

The story is told of the minister who, after conducting the funeral of a well-off member of the community, was asked, "How much did he leave?"

" Everything", replied the minister.

See below for appendix to this article.

1. Stewardship in the 1980s, March 1980, British Council of Churches.   Return 2. See First to the Lord - Funding the Church's Mission (Central Stewardship Committee of the Central Board of Finance, 1999) for a more detailed exposition of this issue.   Return 3. See appendix(below) to this article for a sample of the kind of letter which might be used for this purpose.   Return

Appendix - draft letter to existing planned givers

Dear

I am writing on behalf of the Parochial Church Council of St Porman's Church to thank you for your continued generous support for the work of our church over the past year. It is very encouraging to know that we can rely on your regular giving as we serve the people of the parish. [In addition, the income tax we are able to reclaim makes your generosity even more valuable.]

Having said that, we are of course aware that people's financial circumstances change. For example, either your income or the demands placed on it may have altered - for better or worse! This is just as true of our church as it is of individuals. Continued inflation means that our income, like yours, will not buy as much as it did a year ago. [The enclosed leaflet gives a summary of the costs involved in maintaining the ministry of St Porman's.]

With this letter, therefore, comes an opportunity for you to revise the amount you give through your covenant. [envelopes] [standing order] You may also wish to alter the way in which you make your offering. If so, please use the form enclosed with this letter to indicate your wishes and I will then get in touch with you to make the necessary arrangements. If not, please ignore this paragraph and accept our thanks for all you do. If you have any questions about the church's finances, please do not hesitate to ask either myself or [name of PCC Treasurer].

May I take this opportunity to thank you once again and to reassure you of complete confidentiality in the matter of your giving to St Porman's Church.

Yours sincerely

The Revd Neejah Munney

(please place this form in a sealed envelope and bring it to church on [date] or post it to [name and address])

&-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to amend my giving to St Porman's Church.

(delete as applicable)

• I wish to give £ per week/month/quarter/year with effect from ………………….(date)
• I am a tax payer and therefore wish to give by covenant so that the church can reclaim the Income Tax I have paid on the above amount.
• I wish to give by standing order/envelopes

Signed …………………………………………………………….

Name (please print) ………………………………………………

Alun Brookfield is a Parish Development Adviser in the Diocese of Bristol and also carries a diocese-wide responsibility for stewardship. He is the Editor of Ministry Today.