Latest Fundraising information

Our fundraising for the Building project is underway. This is the latest letter to the church congregation about fundraising | download

Fundraising guidelines.

Happy New Year! 2007 promises to be a very significant year for us as a church in all sorts of ways, and not least because, at our Gift Day on Sunday 28 January, we will be kicking off the fund-raising effort for our Building Project, which we’re calling ‘The Renewal Project: At the Heart of the Villages’. As you know, this project is a momentous one for this church – the sort of thing that God calls us to be involved in perhaps just once or twice in our lives, and I hope and pray that you will be carefully considering what contribution you will be able to make, according to your means.

There are three main financial challenges before us at this time:

• To maintain our current commitments to the existing and on-going work of the church, which is, of course, entirely funded by us, the congregation.
• Over and above this, to raise £195,000 or more up front. This money needs to be in place so that we can then apply for a loan from the Baptist Union for the remainder of the £650,000, which is the current estimated full cost of the scheme.
• To demonstrate to the Baptist Union that we are in a position to make the regular repayments on the loan over a ten year period. For this we need pledges of regular giving to cover the costs of these repayments. Obviously, the more we can raise up front, the less the repayments will be. In order to gauge our financial position, we would be interested in receiving pledges for this last ‘challenge’ even at this early stage.

As has already been discussed, we will be seeking financial assistance from various grant-making bodies and trusts, and there will be a number of fund-raising activities in the coming months. However, there is no doubt that the bulk of this money will need to be raised through the sacrificial financial giving of us, the regular congregation.

The Gift Day, on Sunday 28 January, is the first big opportunity for us to give and to pledge money to the project. Below are various options that you might want to consider in your thinking, praying and planning about this matter.

·        Could I pledge now to give a fixed amount each month when the time comes? This will be over and above my current giving to the church and its activities. My pledge will be a solemn promise to give at least the stated amount as a priority for a period of up to ten years or until the loan is fully repaid if earlier.

·        Can I undertake to donate a lump sum of money from savings or fundraising to help achieve our cash target of at least £195, 000? When will I commit to give this sum by?

·        Can I promise to do both?

It is accepted that circumstances may change. Also that honouring a pledge might be some time off depending upon how long it takes us to reach our cash target (hopefully this will be sooner rather than later).

However, giving a reliable indication of these amounts now will allow us to work out more confidently what level of repayments we can afford.

If you would like any financial advice - advice on how to arrange your giving for instance or if you would like to arrange a Standing Order, please speak, in confidence, to either Rob Gore or Gillian Sugden. If you have ideas on fundraising please speak to Bruce Daniels or Malcolm Lee so they can co-ordinate all efforts to best effect

It is important to stress the ‘widows mite’ principle! In Luke 21 Jesus made it clear that in Kingdom terms, the giving of a couple of coins is highly significant, when it comes from a heart that is desiring to sacrificially give to God. It is important that we resist the natural tendency to feel guilty about what we are or are not able to give to God’s work. Instead, let’s give freely, cheerfully and thoughtfully – having planned what we can afford in accordance with the resources that God has generously given us. Some will be able to give much. Others will be able to give a little, but put together it will all add up to something very significant for the witness of this church for many years to come.

Remember, this project represents a step of faith we sense God is calling us to make together. Now let us put that faith into action, showing our commitment to the Lord and his purposes in this special, practical way.   

PS In addition to any cash contribution you may consider giving on Gift Day, the Diaconate would be grateful if you would think about completing the tear-off slip [download] in response to the questions above. All responses will be treated in confidence and the details only known to Gillian Sugden and Rob Gore as Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer respectively. This form can either be handed directly to Gillian or Rob, or put it in an envelope marked ‘Renewal Project’ and made part of your offering on Gift Day.