Giving Financially
We have a generous God! Everything we have comes from Him, and we recognise that our giving is an act of worship.
We really are stewards, or caretakers, of what actually belongs to God. This includes not only all that we have and all that we will accumulate and earn in the future, but also all that we are, our very lives.
Click here for ways to give and Gift Aid information.
We have two giving accounts:
1) Our Main Account
This is our main account for the general running of the church and our contributions to work abroad.
Expenditure
You will see from the chart below that we expect to spend £915k during the current financial year (2023-24), almost two-thirds of which is going directly into the ministry of this church here and overseas.
The balance is to pay for the administration of all that we do and the staff we employ.
Income
You will see from the chart below that virtually all the income to support the work we believe God is calling us to do is derived from the generosity of His people. We do receive a relatively small amount of income (approximately 7%) from letting parts of the Millmead Centre to external groups, but it is small in comparison to income from giving.
Even allowing for our total income to increase by 5% this year (which is an increase of around £36k) we are still projecting a faith gap, or shortfall, of an additional £51k.
So for members of this church community and regular attenders, we are asking you to prayerfully consider that our budget assumes we will receive a 5% increase in our income this year. We are trusting the faith gap of £51k to the Lord. To cover this would mean a 10% increase in our giving rather than 5%.
If at all possible, we ask our church community and regular attenders to give by means of a Standing Order. This method costs the church nothing and is so helpful as we plan our expenses. If you currently give by ChurchSuite we are grateful but do bear in mind that not all of the money you give will be able to be used by us.
If you would like to give financially to the regular work of Guildford Baptist Church, please refer to the Ways to Give guide below and use the Main Account if giving by bank transfer.
2) Our Building Project Account
This account is a special account solely for our building project.
After some years of pre-funding each stage of the work, we decided to borrow an amount to get the building project finished rather than having it continue for further years.
We originally borrowed just under £1.5m but also had member loans to repay, and a retention on the work, so that in April 2021 we really owed almost £1.6m. The elders felt that it would be good to try and get this repaid in three years.
2021/22
We set a target of £480,000 for the first year (ending 31 March 2022), and achieved this as the following chart shows.
2022/23
We again set a target of £480,000 for the second year (ending 31 March 2023), and achieved 91.7% of our target, as the following chart shows. We thank God for His faithfulness and the generosity of His people during this difficult economic period of steeply rising energy, food and mortgage costs.
2023/24
We believe it is right to continue to repay the loan as quickly as possible, particularly as doing so provides more resources to the Baptist Union to support other churches in this way. We have again, therefore, set a target of £480,000 for the third year (ending March 2024), as the following chart shows.
The amount we still owe is so large and with all the other calls on our finances, we can be encouraged to pray and rely on God, who ‘will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.’
1)
Cash or Cheque
You can give in cash during Sunday service collections. Cheques should be made payable to Guildford Baptist Church. Please complete a Gift Aid declaration if you are able.
Bank Transfer (BACS)
2)
Main Account
Name: Guildford Baptist Church
Account Number: 01070371
Sort Code: 60-09-21
Reference: Your Name
Building Project Account
Name: Guildford Baptist Church Building Fund
Account Number: 74791028
Sort Code: 60-09-21
Reference: Your Name
3)
ChurchSuite
You can also give through ChurchSuite: https://guildfordbaptist.churchsuite.co.uk/donate.
If you wish us to benefit from the full amount of your gift, please tick the box: ‘Increase my donation to cover the transaction fee’
4)
Via your salary
Ask your employer or HR department if they are set up for payroll giving. If they are, just tell them you want to give to Guildford Baptist Church and how much you’d like to donate each month.
This is very much in accord with Paul’s encouragement, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income.” 1 Corinthians 16:2.
Payroll Giving will provide you with tax relief at source so if you are a basic rate tax-payer giving £100 a month, it will only cost you £80 a month; if you are a higher rate tax-payer it will cost you £60 a month; and if you are an additional rate tax payer it will cost you £55 a month.
National Insurance contributions are still calculated on your gross income before Payroll Giving donations are deducted.
Gift Aid is not available as you will have received the tax relief. Therefore if you are a basic rate tax-payer and want to give the equivalent of £100 a month to Guildford Baptist Church together with the Gift Aid we would otherwise have recovered, please consider asking your employer to deduct £125 a month.
If you are a higher rate tax-payer and want to give the equivalent of £200 a month to Guildford Baptist Church together with the Gift Aid we would otherwise have recovered, please consider asking your employer to deduct £250 a month. In this way we would receive £250 a month after Gift Aid and you would also receive tax relief of £40 a month.
Gift Aid
Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 you donate and it can be applied to all methods of giving, apart from Payroll Giving, if it can be identified that you paid it and if you are a UK taxpayer who paid sufficient tax to cover the gift (i.e. if you made a gift of £1000 and want to claim Gift Aid on the whole amount, you need to have paid at least £250 income tax in the same tax year).
If you are a higher rate or additional rate tax payer, Gift Aid not only adds 25p to every £1 you donate, but by including your gift in your Self Assessment tax return, the gift will increase your basic rate tax band and you will save tax of 20% or 25% on the gift respectively.
To set up gift aid, please complete this form and return to the Church Office or post to:
John Overington, Gift Aid Secretary; Church Office, Guildford Baptist Church, Millmead, GU2 4BE
For further information
If you would like to discuss any aspect of this Giving Financially page, or a gift that you are thinking of making, please contact Arthur Childs, Finance Deacon at arthur.childs@guildfordbaptist.org, or telephone the Church Office (01483 575008) and leave a message for Arthur to return your call.
