Giving
As an independent church, the finances required for the church come from the generosity of our members. This enables us to cover the cost of employing staff, hiring facilities, purchasing resources and many other things that help serve what we do as a church. Money enables our ministry and through your generous giving, we're able to support gospel ministry both here in Cambridge, the UK and overseas.
Why should we give?
Giving is an act of worship and part of our spiritual DNA as Christians because we serve a giving God! Paul reminds us in 2 Cor 8:9 that:
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Not only does God give us 'life, breath and everything else' (Acts 17:25), but he has given us his Son Jesus. His loving generosity towards us is the fuel of our joy in giving to him and his Kingdom.
There are many important projects and organisations that we can give generously to, but we believe the local church is vital because of the centrality of the church to God's Kingdom-building project in this world (Eph 3:10-11).
This is why as part of our church promise to one another, we commit to contributing to the financial needs of the church.
How much should we give?
In the Old Testament, as part of the law, God's people were taught to 'tithe' by setting aside a tenth of their produce each year for God (Deut 14:22-24). This law was there to help them honour the LORD and remind them that God was the one who provided for their needs. Rather than being 'earned', the fruit of their labour was a gift that belonged to the Lord. Giving 10% 'back' was as much a practical reminder of the 90% that God was graciously giving to his people!
For Christians, Christ has fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17), and giving is to be a fruit of the Spirit's work in our lives. Rather than specifying a fixed amount we should give, God encourages us to be generous and give cheerfully:
"Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Cor 9:6-7)
We can give cheerfully because as we give, we are reminded that God is the one who blesses us abundantly with all that we need - including the ability (and joy!) of being able to be generous (see also 2 Cor 9:11).
This means that how much we are each able to give numerically is far less important than the heart behind that giving. A wonderful example of this is the widow's offering of 'two very small copper coins' (Luke 21:1-4). This gift may have been small in the world's eyes, but it was far more precious to God because of the trust it expressed.
Practically, Christians have often found it helpful to think of the biblical idea of a tenth as a starting place for regular giving, looking to give beyond that as they are able.
As a church, we want to model this principle in our finances. We aim to give at least 20% of our budget away to missions outside of Grace Church.
How can I give?
You can set up both regular and one-off donations to Grace Church using one of two platforms:
 |
Stewardship
Stewardship is a giving platform that enables you to give to a range of Christian projects across the country and beyond. If you're an existing user, or would like to explore the platform you can arrange for a donation to Grace Church using our project page:
https://www.stewardship.org.uk/partners/20136479 |
 |
ChurchSuite
If you don't currently use Stewardship, you may find it simpler to donate using ChurchSuite. You can find a link to the donation page in the ChurchSuite app (under 'My Giving') or else visit the giving page directly:
https://gracechurchcambridge.churchsuite.com/donate |
Both platforms allow you to give us permission to collect Gift Aid, which helps boost your gift by 25% if you are an eligible taxpayer.
How is the money used?
As a church, we want to be good stewards of the resources that God has entrusted to us. Our Trustees are responsible for setting a budget each year in conversation with the church membership. The vast majority of our budget is given to staff employment, facilities and mission.
The budget is presented at a church family meeting each November, and our accounts are published publicly each year on the Charity Commission website.
If you'd like any further information about Grace Church's finances, please contact our treasurer David James.
Useful Resources
If you'd like to think more about giving and how we use our money, you could take a look at some of these resources below: