Church Family Update January 2026

On Sunday (18 January), Scott reminded us of the vision for SJB and then along with Gordon Featherstone, the church Treasurer, gave a finance update.

If you were not there, you can watch the video below to hear their message. The main takeaway from the update is that God has been incredibly generous and blessed us with a surplus in 2025, and we continue to praise Him for this.

However, as we go into 2026, due to various factors we are projecting to face a gap between our income and our outgoings. You can see why in detail both on the video below, and in this leaflet. 

As we continue in faith to invest in the ministry areas God has called us to, we ask you to prayerfully consider your role in closing the gap this year. This coming Sunday (25 January) we have a gift day, where you can respond to this giving ask as you feel led by God. If you can't make it this Sunday you can bring back your response card anytime in February or respond online here: www.sjbchurch.co.uk/your-response.

As part of our Month of Prayer, we have 24 hours of fasting coming up this Saturday. It is fitting that we are ending this time of fasting together this Sunday with a meal. A beautiful reminder that when we lack, we can trust God to provide. Perhaps you can use your 24 hours of prayer not only to pray for our church, community, and world, but also to allow God space to speak to you about your response to this update.

If you are unable to fast from food for 24 hours for personal reasons, perhaps consider fasting for a shorter amount of time, or from something else that may help you to give more time over to prayer this coming weekend. You will of course still be welcome to join us for lunch after the 11am service, even if you are not able to fast. We will be providing jacket potatoes with fillings and all dietary requirements are catered for.