Just as Baptist churches are “autonomous” they are intended to be financially self-sufficient, which means that they rely on donations from the people in the congregation for all their financial needs. These include pastor’s stipends, mission activities, general running expenses, upkeep of buildings and much more.

This shouldn’t be seen as “the cost of belonging” or an “entrance fee”. Rather it is an opportunity to contribute to something which we believe is important, and should be a priority in our lives. It is an opportunity to give something back to God who has given us so much.

Many people take the Biblical principle of giving a tenth of our income as a guideline as to what we should contribute in this way. The important thing is that we consider, before God, what we think we should be contributing and commit to do that.

For UK tax payers, we can get benefit from the “Gift Aid” system which enables us to claim back some tax which is an additional bonus! To understand more about this, or to find out more about giving to the work of the church, please speak with our treasurer.