Important update about the church finances
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Church,
I’m Christopher Phillimore, and today I’m reaching out to you as the church’s Stewardship Advisor with an important message regarding our church’s current financial trajectory.
For the past twenty-five years, I have had the privilege of worshipping at St. Andrew’s. During this time, we have witnessed remarkable transformations in our church building and centre, as well as in our youth, children’s, and worship ministries. These advancements, along with our mission and charity work, have been made possible through your generous contributions.
However, as many of you heard during the APCM meeting last month, our financial position has been worsening over the past three years due to a growing gap between our income and expenditure. This situation is serious and requires immediate action. Our financial charts reveal a projected gap of £55,000 for 2024. While we have relied on financial reserves to cover recent deficits, this is not a sustainable solution.
Like many organizations, our church is facing inflationary pressures affecting the costs of energy, wages, food, and materials. Despite the PCC and Finance Committee's efforts to control expenses, which have remained almost flat since 2022, the upward push of inflation continues.
The way out of our position is to increase our church income. This requires each of us to prayerfully consider increasing our giving or starting to give if we haven’t already. This will enable us to continue our vital ministries and new outreach programs in our community.
The alternative, if we do not increase our income, is that we will have to look at options to reduce expenditure to balance the books; and this may need to include reviewing the composition and size of our staff team and associated costs.
Here are some key points to consider:
St. Andrew’s is a growing church, investing in our children and youth and aiming to be a “resourcing church” for the gospel and community support.
We’re experiencing inflation in costs and need to keep up with these changes.
We’d love for everyone in our church to become a giver.
Existing givers: please consider increasing your contributions by 5-10% or a few pounds each month.
If you use the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS), opt-in for automatic inflation adjustments during your next login or call.
Newcomers and non-givers: join our giving community through the PGS or a regular standing order.
You can take action now by clicking here to visit the Parish Giving Scheme page for our parish. If you’re an existing PGS giver, sign in to amend your giving. If you give by standing order, set a reminder to update your bank app today. New givers can pick up a ‘why, what and how’ giving leaflet and a PGS pack in the concourse.
If you have any questions about giving or need advice, please feel free to contact me in confidence at stewardship@stastb.church
Thank you for your attention and continued generosity.
Best regards, Christopher Phillimore Stewardship Advisor St. Andrew’s Church
Please feel free to view the stewardship presentation from last Sunday here.