Finance is something which is exercising the minds of many people in our Presbytery and across the whole of the Church of Scotland at the moment. Over the coming weeks, I'm going to spend a bit of time exploring what changes were introduced and what we, as a Presbytery, can do to support congregations.
Let's start with STEWARDSHIP - because that is something everyone should have on their radar, regardless of what your current financial position is.
Presbyteries were instructed by the General Assembly to work with congregations who are not currently paying full ministry costs, to foster stewardship such that these congregations achieve growth in their contributions towards ministry costs within the next two years.
Let's begin by unpacking what 'not currently paying full ministry costs' means.
Every congregation receives a Giving to Grow assessment each year. It usually arrives in the autumn. The calculation is based on the assessed income of the congregation and the following three elements:
- Ministry here - the costs involved in the provision of full time ministry of word and sacrament within the charge
- Ministry elsewhere - contributing to the costs of ministry across the whole of the Church of Scotland
- Shared activities - contributing to the costs of the central offices (e.g. the Law Department) and the Presbytery
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
Malachi 3:10.
The cost of a full time equivalent Minister of Word and Sacrament is currently taken to be £50,815.
Therefore, if you have a Minister of Word and Sacrament and your Giving to Grow contribution is less than £50,815, you are in the category of not paying your full ministry costs, and the Presbytery has been instructed to work with you to help you increase your income through stewardship.
There's a couple of things to note about this. Firstly, this is different from those congregations who are struggling to pay their Giving to Grow contributions and who may face an assessment as to whether they are insolvent (post 1 January 2026). I will be writing a separate post about the new legislation covering this.
Secondly, the aim is to increase giving rather than to get every congregation to a place where it is paying full ministry costs, because that's unrealistic. Our system relies on solidarity across congregations and we recognise that the financial constraints that exist for congregations.
Where then do we start as a Presbytery?
Well, the Church of Scotland has produced a wealth of material to help congregations to understand their current financial position and to begin to incorporate stewardship into church life, and I've signposted to the most recent ones below. This is a starting point and over the coming months we will be looking at what else we can do to help. But in the meantime, why not review the material already available and think about how it might be useful in your own context.
Stewardship Resources
Bearing Fruit is designed to help your congregation strengthen its financial sustainability. By completing a series of simple questions, you will receive a tailored report with practical advice and resources to help develop your church's stewardship, governance and financial practices, and grow its income. You can find out more here: https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about-us/departments/stewardship-and-finance-department/financial-health-check.
The Narrative of Generosity encourages the sharing of stories to teach and reflect on Christian stewardship. It is a modular-based resource with 12 themes to help us fulfil our God-given role as stewards. You can find out more here: https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about-us/departments/stewardship/a-narrative-of-generosity
And, within our Presbytery, we have a Stewardship Consultant, Fiona Penny, who is happy to help congregations look at the whole topic of stewardship:
Email: fpenny@churchofscotland.org.uk
Phone: 07891 479809