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Resources

Welcome to the ‘resources’ section of this website. Here you will find information on

• How we can help your parish with stewardship issues

• The programmes we currently offer (TRIO, GEM & Pass-it-on)

• Other services we offer (e.g. information on fundraising)

• The cost of our services

• The Biblical principles underlying Christian stewardship

• Resources for small groups

• Making the most of legacy giving in your parish

• Fairer shares and the costs of running our Diocese

• A link to the National Stewardship website

How we can help your parish

The Diocesan Stewardship Resources Officers and Director of Communications and Resources are available to come out to your parish. We can assist you in the following ways:

• Talk to the incumbent, stewardship planning committee or PCC about stewardship and the programmes we offer

• Plan and implement a stewardship programme in the parish in consultation with the PCC and incumbent

• Preach on stewardship matters

• Advise on fundraising

• Plan a mission day to help focus church resources

In addition, you are welcome to make an appointment to come and visit us here at Trinity House. We can discuss your stewardship needs, and also have a number of leaflets and publications for you to take away.

The programmes we currently offer

TRIO (The Responsibility is Ours)

A planned giving programme which examines the current income and expenditure of the parish

• Informs members of the congregation about the finances of their church

• Informs members of the congregation about the Fairer Shares scheme

• Encourages members of the congregation to consider increasing their giving to church

• Encourages members of the congregation to consider giving by gift aid

• The main feature is a presentation to which all the congregation is personally invited. This normally takes place as part of the main Sunday service

• Does not require specialist knowledge to run as a DIY programme

• Facts are presented using PowerPoint.

• TRIO results, on average, in a 50-60% rise in regular giving.

• Can take as little as six weeks from initial planning to final response

GEM (Giving Enables Ministry)

• A longer-term programme which examines stewardship in terms of finances, time and talents

• Encourages members of the congregation to give in terms of finance, time and talents

• Begins with the development of a Parish Mission Plan

• Can follow on from TRIO

• Works most successfully in a parish where there is no shortfall between income and expenditure

• Does not require specialist knowledge to run as a DIY programme

• The main feature is a presentation to which all the congregation is personally invited. This normally takes place as part of the main Sunday service

• Facts are presented using PowerPoint.

• Requires five months or more to plan and run

Pass-it-on

• A shorter and simpler programme designed for parishes who have lots of new members or are new to the principles of Christian stewardship

• Introduces the principles of stewardship of finances, time and talents in a simple, non-threatening way

• Does not require specialist knowledge to run as a DIY programme

• Begins with the development of a Parish Mission Plan

• Involves the circulation of Pass-it-on folders to the homes of church members

• The main feature is a presentation to which all the congregation is personally invited. This normally takes place as part of the main Sunday service but may be a special ‘launch event’.

• Takes three to four weeks to run, but requires up to three months to plan

Other services we offer

• Information on capital fundraising, with specialist searches and databases available for your use with the advisor in Trinity House

• Tailor-made stewardship programmes where none of the advertised programmes are suitable for your parish

• Leaflets for sale, including ‘Proportionate Giving’, ‘The Church is Always Asking for Money’, Gift Aid and Legacy leaflets

• Tailor-made leaflets for your parish

The Cost of Our Services

• We do not charge for our time.

• If we visit a parish to do a presentation or to preach we simply charge travel expenses or mileage

• TRIO, GEM and Pass-it-on packs are available at £45, £45 and £15 respectively

• Please ask for the current price of our leaflets, which are sold at cost

• We provide our own equipment for PowerPoint presentations at no charge to the parish

• A £10 rebate is available on TRIO packs on submission of a ‘results’ form (see pack for details)

Biblical principles underlying Christian stewardship
(with thanks to Ven. Christopher Skilton, Archdeacon of Lambeth)

As a starting point, why not take a look at the following Biblical passages?

• Deuteronomy 26:3-11
• 1 Chronicles
• Acts 4:32-37
• Romans 15:22-29
• James 2:1-7
• 2 Corinthians 8-9

Resources for small groups

We have a number of resources for small groups to work on stewardship. Please telephone us or visit us for more information. We can also work with your parish to produce tailor-made small group resources. In the meantime, here is a taster of some material:

Why give to the Church?

What does the Bible say about giving to the community of faith?

1. From the earliest days comes a picture of a loving community whose shared life reflected the generosity of the life of God himself. (Acts 2:44 & 45) Mutual responsibility is a notable mark of the New Testament Church — and it has clear financial implications, which are only avoided at personal peril. (Acts 5:1—11) Remember Annanias and Sapphira!

2. Financial provision was made for the support of those in ministry, just as it had been among the People of God in Old Testament times. (1 Corinthians 9:14 see also 1 Timothy 5:17)

3. Provision was made, too, for supporting brothers and sisters who were less well off. (1 Corinthians 16:1 & 2)

4. We can deduce some important Biblical guidelines from the previous passage. Our financial giving should be:

REGULAR “every Sunday”
UNIVERSAL “each of you”
COMMITTED “must”
PROPORTIONATE “in proportion to what you have earned”

For discussion

1. Discuss the importance of the four aspects of the context of giving.

2. Do you agree that the Church has been better at passing on its teaching about God rather than the experience of God?

3. What other aspects of the context of giving do you think are important?

4. What do you perceive to be the difference between Teaching and Information with regard to giving?

Making the most of legacy giving in your parish

• The Diocesan Stewardship Resources Officer is available to advise you on legacy giving and the best way of approaching this subject with the congregation

• We have a number of leaflets available on this topic for sale and are happy to send out free samples.

• Please get in touch if you require help with this area of Christian Stewardship or would simply like to know more

Fairer shares and the costs of running our Diocese

Fairer Shares leaflet
Money Matters leaflet

The Diocese operates a “FAIRER SHARES” Scheme. The cost of maintaining and supporting our clergy in 2008 is:

£60,054 (£1,155 per week)

This cost includes stipends, housing, assurance, pensions, etc (£899 per week), PLUS support costs (£256 per week).

What is your Fairer Shares assessment? Using the information above, you should be able to work out whether you are a net receiver (i.e. you pay less than £1,155 per week) or a net giver (i.e. you pay more than £1,155 per week). This information can often help with stewardship campaigns. You should make the congregation aware of these figures.

A link to the National Stewardship website

www.stewardship.cofe.anglican.org

Gift Aid

Following the Government's Review of Charity Taxation, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced wide-spread changes to enable giving to charities to be more tax-effective.  The biggest change was the introduction of a new Gift Aid scheme that replaced the use of Covenants.  The changes came into effect on 6 April 2000.

Further information and advice

Central Gift Aid Scheme

Helping you tackle the administration of your gift aid declarations quickly and efficiently. There are over 90 parishes in the scheme already and the numbers are growing.

Consultations

• Advice on giving, capital fund-raising, covenants, etc.

• Advice on all aspects of communications

• Communications workshops

• Stewardship workshops

• Treasurers' workshops

• Gift Aid Secretaries' workshops

Publications

Leaflets and manuals on all aspects of Christian stewardship and giving.

Contacts

Director & Bishop's Press Officer: Wendy S Robins
Diocesan Stewardship Resources Officer: Jackie Pontin
Departmental Administrator: Frances Diamond

Communications and Resources
Trinity House
4 Chapel Court
Borough High Street
London SE1 1HW
Tel: 020-7939 9400
Fax: 020-7939 9468
E-mail: comm.res@southwark.anglican.org

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