SEEING GOD CHANGE LIVES
In this short post you will find an overview of our church’s expected expenditure and income in 2024 – a budget aimed at enabling us to increase our missional impact – seeing God change lives, families, and churches – and securing our finances for the coming years.
For the first time after many years of surplus, in 2023 our expenditure exceeded our income – by £38,000. In the coming year, while seeking to increase our income and donations, we are once again anticipating a deficit of £50,000. In 2025 we want to see this decrease further and to return to a more balanced annual budget going forward.
Telling the story of our finances is a good thing. It creates a deeper sense of unity and momentum, clarifies and increases our shared vision, increases our gratitude and faith, and deepens our understanding and commitment to all that we want to be and do together. As a church, over the coming years, we need to increase our income. We aim to do this by:
- Generating new one-off gifts to the church mission
- Welcoming new people into giving regularly to the church through standing orders and using gift aid
- Encouraging those already giving regularly to the church to increase their monthly offering
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this call. Every gift matters and is so appreciated.
Actual and expected income in 2023 and 2024
This graph shows how our total income in 2023 was £683,000 and how in 2024 we are looking to increase this in to £735,000 – an increase of over £50,000
Actual and expected expenditure in 2023 and 2024
This graph illustrates how most of our expenditure goes on staff costs and parish share contributions. These have grown to help us better meet our vision, but we believe that they have reached their peak as a proportion of our expenditure.
Here is the same information in figures:
- As you look at these figures and graphs, what strikes you? Do they make sense? What questions do you have?
- What does it tell you about our priorities?
- How are you involved? Where do you see yourself?
- How do you want to participate?
A generous God | A generous church
Reflecting on all this it is worth saying that these are remarkable figures that tell a story of amazing generosity. We note that the vast majority of our income comes through donations and personal giving – from you. Even though we raise some money from hall rentals and events, it is the many individual donations that we each make individually that makes things happen. Thank you for every gift. They tell a wonderful story.
Secondly, we note how dependant we are on income from giving. If we have to buy some cleaning materials, pay for the internet, repair the roof, tune the organ, pay staff, do some photocopying, or heat our buildings, the money comes from each other. No-one else raises money for us. It’s down to us – pooling our resources together and sharing in the mission as a group. If we don’t make things happen together, they don’t happen.
Also, we can see that our biggest investment and expenditure is concentrated on employing people together – a team of individuals who serve us through their work to lead, support, organise, manage, and develop our shared activity together – and this includes a contribution we make to our Diocese to support clergy and other Diocesan expenditure that is important for the running of the wider church of which we are part. We are generous and willing contributors to this.
Lastly, there are our facilities. All of us are so grateful for the mix of buildings and resources we oversee together. This includes our beautiful Grade 2 Listed Church, our amazingly flexible Centre, and our housing stock. The costs of insurance, upkeep, maintenance, and heating have all risen again this year.
You will hear me say that all our money is given away. All our money goes somewhere. Whether we are paying salaries, running a group, subsidising a coach trip or youth event, purchasing communion wine, or supporting mission partners in Burundi, we are giving our resources away. We don’t spend it on ourselves. We spent it on others – older people, the young, school children, the wider community. It is an offering to God.
NEEDING EACH OTHER AS WE JOURNEY ON TOGETHER
Driven by our vision to grow in our outreach and to be and make disciples whose lives have been changed by God, over the last year we have intentionally increased our spending on youth and children’s work, on building up our community life and pastoral care, and on developing our administration and finance teams, whilst also seeking to maintain our investment in worship, discipleship, and local and international mission.
The journey ahead will be both exciting and demanding. As newer leaders become established, as we pull together around a clear vision, and as we look to deepen our relationships and develop our local mission, we can see how God has been leading us into greater commitment to the gospel and the coming Kingdom. There is a mission field all around us and we are all being invited to join in once again. Please give as generously as you can.
MAKE A GIFT | SET UP A STANDING ORDER | PLEDGE
Thank you for your giving to God’s mission here. To increase your offering or to start giving go to our giving webpage here: www.stmaryreigate.org/giving/
