GIVING
Introduction
We are generous in response to God’s generosity and because we want to reflect his nature.
Your giving contributes directly to the transformation of lives and communities. It enables everything we do at St John's Church including Sunday services, work with families, children, young people, students and young adults, home groups, Alpha, 24/7 prayer and church planting.
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All that happens at St John's church is made possible by those who pray, serve and give
to the work of the church. We could not do it without you.
Thank you so much!
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'…in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty
overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means,
as I can testify, and beyond their means’ 2 Cor 8:2.
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Principle of Giving
Giving is part of our worship. Jesus was very clear that it’s not possible to serve both God and money. We must make sure that God is on the throne of our hearts, not money. One temperature test for this is our attitude towards giving and how willing we are to be generous. Our motivation for generosity is God’s goodness to us. We give in response to God’s radically generosity to us in giving us his son. The only response to God’s radical generosity is radical generosity ourselves.
The Old Testament teaches the practice of tithing, that we give as an expression of thankfulness 10% from the first fruits of what we receive. Giving 10% of our income is a good principle to guide our giving. The Bible teaches that giving should be faithful, regular, cheerful, willing, joyful and at times, sacrificial. Sometimes we need to feel the pain of sacrificial giving, we may need to ask what are we giving to before God? But also, there should not be guilt or shame associated with giving – it is never helpful to compare what we give, with what others give.
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Financial Hardship
We know that there can be seasons in our lives that are hard financially. In all of this we are not wanting to create pressure or burden you but to ask the question, where might God be calling you to stretch in this area.
If you are currently facing financial hardship, please do let us know so we can pray for you and help to support you financially.
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Ways to Give
Regular giving is the most helpful to us, but we are grateful for all donations given to St John's, please find below the different ways you can give financially.
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It is helpful for you to let us know when you have setup new giving via standing order or changed your existing giving or plan to give in a way that is less regular than each month. This helps us to budget and plan well. Please use the form linked below to let us know this information.
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If you would like to talk to someone about giving, please email: giving@sjbchurch.co.uk
1. Standing Order​
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The most efficient way for you to give to us is directly via the bank through standing order, as there are no fees involved, and we get 100% of your donation. To set up or amend a standing order, log in to your online banking or visit your local branch with SJB’s bank account details:​
ST JOHNS CHURCH
Account Number: 71544224
Sort Code: 54-21-50
Bank: Natwest
Quote reference as: General Giving
2. Parish Giving Scheme
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This method is also efficient as we do not incur any fees. You can sign up to a direct debit taken around the first of the month, either by using the packs in Church or online using the link below. There is also an option to increase your donation annually in-line with inflation.
4. Give by Cash, Cheque or Card
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Planned giving via the bank or the Parish Giving Scheme is the most helpful for us to plan, but we gratefully receive all gifts.
Cheques are made payable to St John the Baptist PCC, and can be sent via the post. You can also give by cash, cheque or card at our Sunday services.
GIFT AID DECLARATION
For UK taxpayers, we are able to reclaim 25p for every £1 given, at no extra cost to you. To allow us to claim Gift Aid on your behalf, please complete the declaration below.
How will SJB use your information?
SJB will use your details to process your gift, thank you for your donation, to recover Gift Aid (where relevant) and to contact you in relation to future gifts and giving. For more information about how we use your details, please view our Privacy Policy.
Declaration
Please claim Gift Aid on my donations to St John the Baptist Church (Charity Number 1178009). This includes all donations from the date specified, plus any future donations, unless I notify you otherwise.
I confirm that I am a UK taxpayer and have paid or will pay sufficient Income or Capital Gains tax in each tax year to cover all the tax that will be reclaimed by all the charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs to which I have made Gift Aid donations in any tax year covered by this declaration. I understand that I am responsible for paying any tax shortfall.
Please let us know if any of your personal details change, or if you no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains.
How we steward our finances
The PCC (governing body of the church) take very seriously the need to exercise robust financial management, and we assure you that your gift will be used in the most effective and efficient way possible. Each year the PCC sets a budget for the church and regularly monitors income & expenditure throughout the year to ensure it is on track.
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You can go to the page linked below to see who is a member of the PCC and view the annual accounts from previous years, giving a detailed account on how we spend our money.
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The chart below shows how we spend the money given to us in 2023.
How much does it cost to run the church?
It takes roughly £17,000 a month to run the church, this is broken down into:
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Regular donations: £7,960
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One off donations: £1,250
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Gift Aid: £2,030
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Room Hire: £1,460
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RC: £2,800 month
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Other: £1,500
As you can see, the majority of our income comes from donations and gift aid from our church members. We do supplement that income by renting out the church rooms to carefully selected groups, and we receive some grant income from the resourcing church project which is time limited.
Leaving a Legacy
You may wish to consider leaving a gift to St John's in your will. By leaving a gift in your will it allows us to do work that our regular day to day giving can't support. This could be things such as developments of the building, buying new resources for children & youth work or other investment in mission.
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We are unable to offer any advice on writing a will, but if you already have a will and would like to leave a gift to St John's in it, all you have to do is contact your will provider with our formal name, address and charity number (see below):
Formal Name: The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St John the Baptist, Clarendon Park, Leicester
Registered Charity Number: 1178009
Registered Address: St John the Baptist Church, 4a Clarendon Park Road, Leicester, LE2 3AD