The Stewardship magazine | Autumn Winter 2021
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Welcome I recently went to watch a performance of Come from Away in London’s West End. It is a powerful retelling of when thousands of plane passengers from across the world unexpectedly had to land – and remain for several days – in the tiny community of Gander in Newfoundland, Canada, following the September 11 attacks in 2001. Whilst it might sound like a grim reminder of a truly terrible event 20 years ago, what unfolded was a remarkable story of how the lives of individuals and the community as a whole were completely transformed by suddenly having to accommodate, feed and care for 7,000 stranded passengers. The acts of kindness, hope, humour and love were such a contrast to the destruction and horror that is seared into our memories. I don’t know if it was just because we have all been through the most extraordinary times collectively as a human family, but the connection between the actors and the audience in the theatre was profound. Joining together in the rousing applause at the end, it felt like we were standing as those in Gander had done – as one community coming together to serve and support. As I read the stories inside this issue I’m struck by the power of individuals and communities stepping forward to do new and ambitious things in Jesus’ name. The last 18 months have challenged us to adapt and change in so many ways, and find our new rhythms. More and more, I think we are re-discovering that being together in person – to support, encourage, comfort, and share with fellow Christians speaks right into who we are as humans. Thankfully we don’t have to do this in our own strength, but rather we can rely on the one who sent his son to live among us; this was ‘God… reconciling the world to himself in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:19).
ABOU T U S
We help over 40,000 people give more than £100 million each year and partner with 4,000 churches, 6,000 charities and 2,500 individual mission workers to help them abundantly resource their calling. Share magazine is produced twice annually and is available exclusively for those we serve.
CONTACT U S 1 Lamb’s Passage, London EC1Y 8AB T: 020 8502 5600 E: enquiries@stewardship.org.uk W: stewardship.org.uk You can contact the editor by emailing editor@stewardship.org.uk Editor: Catherine Durant Design: adeptdesign.co.uk
Frances Miles Chief Partnership Officer
Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited, a registered charity in England and Wales no. 234714 and a company limited by guarantee no. 90305.
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In with the new We’re here to help you be the best steward of the resources in your care. SUPPO RT A C AUSE
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Inside this issue
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Activate your giving
Trusted services for Christian philanthropists, maximising the impact of your giving.
One brick at a time
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Steps into mission
For those giving more than £25,000
For those establishing charitable funds of £500,000 or more
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Making waves Stewardship America for US/UK Dual Qualified Giving
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Non-cash giving Ask Steve
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Why I give: Eva Onyeulo
Activate your giving We believe that whilst some are called to go to the frontlines to serve, others are called to support and give, and we delight every time we help forge new connections.
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Moments when anger at injustice, or pain at international suffering cause our hearts to desire to do more than just talk.
So whether you care about Justice, Evangelism, International Aid, or Creation Care; you’ll find over 4,000 churches, 2,500 Christian workers and 6,000 charities, who have been vetted and approved by us, that you can add to your Giving Account at any time. We’ve curated a few causes to get you started:
Moments of commitment and conviction to faithfully sow in to our local church or mission workers across the globe. 6
Evangelism
Local Church
Prayer and Worship
Mental and Physical Health
Bible
Justice
Sports and Recreation
Children and Youth
UK Poverty and Debt
International Aid
Church Planting
Global Mission
Art and Media
Creation Care
Tech and Innovation
Rapid Response
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One brick at a time How the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer is taking shape.
Prayer and Worship
Tech and Innovation 8
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“ It’s so hard to find any positive news in the media and yet God is moving in this nation. The Eternal Wall is our way of telling the country that Jesus is alive and that he listens and answers prayer.”
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eventeen years ago, at Easter, the people of Leicestershire were surprised to see a man walking across their county carrying a large wooden cross. But perhaps no-one was quite as taken aback as the man himself. Former Chaplain to Leicester City Football Club and self-employed businessman Richard Gamble felt God telling him that this was what he wanted him to do. “It was a bit like a piece of performance art. People started talking to me about the faith conversations they’d had over the years. I asked God what he wanted me to do next and an image came to me of building a landmark made of a million bricks, each one representing an answered prayer. Obviously, I thought it was ridiculous and completely impractical. But I tried to be obedient and take the steps God showed me.”
yet God is moving in this nation. The Eternal Wall is our way of telling the country that Jesus is alive and that he listens and answers prayer. Would you believe that 30% of Christians don’t believe that God will answer their prayer? I think that the Eternal Wall is the biggest evangelistic opportunity for a generation.” In 2014, Richard ran crowdfunding to raise the money for a global competition to find the right design. “It was the kind of crowdfunding where if you don’t hit the target, it’s all over. With four days to go, we were miles off. I prayed through the night, absolutely desperate. I felt God told me to be at peace. Clare Balding interviewed me at the beginning of the campaign and as I left the studio, she said, ‘Well, there’s another man whose dreams won’t come true.’ On the penultimate day, money flooded in from all over the world. We hit our target with a day to spare.”
Seventeen years on, Richard is less than two years away from realising the vision of building the largest database of hope stories in the world: the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer. It’s been a long and difficult journey, beset with doubts and challenges. “I’m sure lots of people think I’m a nutter. This is the man, after all, who managed to burn down his bathroom and chopped a tree down in the garden which nearly fell into the house. If I had known what was coming, I’d probably have given up. However, God gave me the strength for each day and performed many miracles along the way.”
With design entries coming in from all over the world, Richard found himself pitching his idea at a parliamentary reception. “I was standing in front of all these MPs and the reality was that I had no idea, no money and no land. My wife and I flew to a conference in the USA and someone told us that God wanted us to know that he had some heavenly land prepared. One of our prayer team prayed that God would show her the land. We laughed! A few days later, she emailed us a map with a piece of land circled, saying that this was the place God had prepared. Just a fortnight earlier, the person who owned the land had emailed and asked to meet me.”
Richard feels passionately about prayer. “It’s so hard to find any positive news in the media and 11
God’s perfect timing was at work again. Six months before Richard’s original vision, the landowner felt God spoke to him about building a national landmark for Jesus. For two years, offers of land went back and forth but nothing worked. Most people would have given up, but not Richard. “The landowner’s architect looked up all the land owned in the Midlands and came back with the place the lady had circled. Now we own it.”
While Richard has raised over £3.4 million through crowdfunding, Stewardship have stepped in to help with the rest. “John Kirkby of CAP introduced me to Stewardship. The team is actively walking alongside us on this amazing adventure. Hundreds of organisations and thousands of churches are coming on board. Stewardship set up a fundraising page for us, are talking to donors and finding areas where they can be involved in supporting us. We love working with them.”
If you’re building a national landmark, you need people to be able to see it. The Eternal Wall will be on the edge of Birmingham between the M6 and the M42. HS2 is right next to it and it’s underneath the airport’s flight path. Richard estimates that 800,000 people will journey past it each week.
Richard and the team have battled with criticism ever since the project began. “People say, ‘Is this really how we should be spending our money?’ I appreciate that this is a counter-cultural vision, but we’ll be generating around £2 million per year for Christian charities and good causes from the income from car parking, the café and bookstore. We created the charity so that we can put the profits towards social housing and other national needs. If God’s not in this, spending £10 is too much, but we have daily proof that he is.”
“The wall will be two and a half times the height of the Angel of the North. The whole of Buckingham Palace could fit comfortably into it. The arched towers will rise 50 meters into the skyline. When it’s built, people will be able to come and point their phone at any brick and it will light up and tell its story.”
“ The landowner’s architect looked up all the land owned in the Midlands and came back with the place the lady had circled. Now we own it.” 12
With such an enormous project, having the right personnel in place is key. In the office of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, they refuse to be shocked any more. “We realised we needed a construction project manager and that we couldn’t afford one. I told our advisor we needed a Christian applicant. He laughed and said, ‘You’re looking for a needle in a haystack. If you want a Christian, it’s like a yellow needle in a haystack!’ I started praying there and then and thirty minutes later, a guy driving along turned on his radio, heard a news report about the Eternal Wall and felt God telling him he needed to be involved. He was a senior construction project manager just up the road at the Commonwealth Games stadium. He spoke to his boss who released him and an assistant to work on it for a day a week for free. All that in half an hour!” Heading up such a massive challenge can be a terrifying prospect. “I often feel that I’m standing on the edge of a cliff looking down. I’m surrounded by facts telling me that what I’m attempting is crazy, but then I recalibrate my mind to the truth that God is in this, doing amazing things. We met with the people behind the Angel of the North a few years ago. They told us the press coverage was horrific until the day it went up and then everyone loved it. We believe that the same thing will happen with the Eternal Wall.”
stewardship.org.uk/ pages/eternalwall
This autumn, the road is being built to access the land. Richard needs to raise £2.5 million to begin building the Eternal Wall in 2022. “It’s time for Christians to stand up and be bold, to say what they believe. What better message could there be to our nation in these times?”
Ruth Leigh Freelance Writer for Stewardship
For Richard and the team for wisdom and strength. Pray for God’s will to be done, for the money and resources needed to be unlocked and for people all over the world to catch the vision 13
Add your answered prayer to the website: eternalwall.org.uk
First steps into mission Every year we welcome new Christian workers in to the Stewardship family, partnering with them to validate their work and raise up a strong base of financial support. We love spending time understanding the calling that each individual has taken in to selfsupporting ministry – none are ever the same. Here are just two from the latest cohort signing up with us to raise support this summer:
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Global Mission
International Aid
Cleared for take-off
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or Fran and Dave Rolfe, life on the mission field has been 20 years in the making.
Helimission are a non-profit organisation that provide transport to help relief organisations and mission agencies reach remote areas. Dave was a speaker for Mission Aviation Fellowship for 18 years and kept in touch with Helimission during that time, but there were always factors that prevented him from joining them. This time, however, Dave’s combination of skills matched what Helimission needed and the couple felt prompted that ‘If not now, then when?’
The first time Dave arrived at the Helimission office was a difficult date to forget: 11th September 2001. But it’s only in the last couple of years that everything has come together for Dave, Fran and their children, Lillian and Nathan, to step out of their familiar lives in the UK and into a new adventure. Dave has had a passion for aviation since he was five years old and has flown helicopters for 20 years, accumulating about 6,000 flying hours. Most recently he was working as a safety manager for London’s Air Ambulance service, but Dave will soon be swapping the cityscape of the capital for the mountains of Papua, Indonesia.
For the Rolfes, it was very much a family decision to go. “We think of it as all four of us going on mission,” says Fran. “We’re at a bit of an unusual time in life to be going – we’re not newly married, we’re not retired, our children are 15 and 12 years old. A lot of people leave the mission field at that point and come back to the UK for schooling reasons.” But the family have been 15
home educating their children for five and a half years. Both Lillian and Nathan have a faith of their own and Fran is intrigued as to how God will use them all in Papua. “For Dave his love is to serve the Lord with his flying skills, which are considerable. My heart is to reach the lost and to build community, and so together we make quite a good team.” Fran is hopeful that she can use her background in youth and community work.
Fran and Dave with setting up their Individual Partner Account. They attended the Support Raising training which gave them the confidence they needed to approach potential supporters. “As Brits it’s hard to approach people for money,” says Dave, expressing the concern that many would feel stepping out of a regular salaried role into selfsupported Christian work. “But the training gave us the biblical principles of why and how it could work: it’s not begging, it’s raising money for God’s work from the resources of his people.”
Helimission encouraged the Rolfes to go on a vision trip to Papua for a month so that they could decide together whether it was something they wanted to do. “Lillian loved it, she cried coming back to the UK, she just found it beautiful and freeing to be there.” says Fran. “Nathan was a bit more reserved, he feels at home in the UK but he’s walking the journey.” Dave adds “When we came back from Papua it took him about a month or so, he wasn’t sure at first but he’s willing and wants to go.”
It was Caroline Burns, Stewardship’s Head of Individual Partnerships, who shared an analogy that helped Fran and Dave to think about partnering with supporters in a different way. “Caroline compared it to announcing your engagement and everyone is excited and congratulating you, but you don’t then just add on a message asking for anyone who wants to be a bridesmaid to get in touch,” Fran explained. “You ask people personally. There are friends who we approached who said they would have been offended if we hadn’t asked. The relationship is so important – we are walking together with these
Because Helimission are a Swiss-based organisation there’s no way for them to raise support in the UK, so Stewardship have helped
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people and plan to schedule in time to pray for all of our supporters regularly too.” Fran and Dave are excited to have almost reached their target for support as at the time of interview the family are preparing to travel to America for a semester’s training at seminary before heading to language school in Indonesia and then to Papua. The flying will involve anything from transporting local Indonesians and Papuans to help tribes with Bible translation, to medical evacuations in areas where only a helicopter can reach. The flights make no profit, in most cases only charging a nominal fee for fuel.
stewardship.org.uk/partners/20358852
“I always link it to the story of the Good Samaritan,” explains Dave. “He couldn’t get anybody anywhere without the donkey. Flying the helicopter is really just a tool to help.” Fran adds, “I often think about the verse that says every tribe, tongue and nation will be together in heaven. There are only a few left who have never heard about Jesus. We want to reach the unreached so that everyone will have that opportunity.”
For peace and trust for the Rolfe family in all the finer details of preparation before they go.
Find out more about the work of Helimission: helimission.org/en
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Evangelism
Justice
Released for ministry
V
ince Wemyss grew up in a small town where there wasn’t much to do except get into trouble. At secondary school he got into glue sniffing and left with no qualifications, barely remembering the last couple of years he was there. At 17 a friend invited him to see a band at a local venue. “He didn’t mention they were Christian and told me to give it a chance. I was there wearing punk gear and stood out like a sore thumb,” says Vince. “I couldn’t stand the music to be honest, but the guy did an altar call to ‘know Jesus’ at the end. I thought, this is a bold claim – he’s either mad or there’s something in it.” Vince stood alone at the front expecting more people to join but it was just him. By the end of the prayer, he had an overwhelming sense of love and forgiveness and was completely convinced that God was real. “It was a huge moment of repentance and a dramatic conversion – outside of my day job in a factory, every moment of my time was spent serving in the local church.” 18
Fast forward a decade and having picked up his education, Vince enrolled at university for a degree in Biblical Studies. But there he began to lose his way. “It had the opposite effect to what you might imagine – I was hanging around with the wrong crowd and gradually drifted from God. I started to find Christians a bit nauseous.” Not knowing what else to do with his degree, Vince became an R.E teacher for 14 years. But during this time he started to live a dual life, “I was being professional during the day but drinking myself into a stupor every night. Everything began to unravel: I had a breakdown, my wife and daughter left, I lost my house and I had a serious attempt to end my life.” Vince moved back to his home town in search of familiarity but his life was hurtling out of control. “By this point I was drinking a bottle of vodka a day.” Heavily inebriated and following an altercation, Vince was arrested for arson and sentenced to 30 months in prison.
“On the prison bus I started to pray. At that point it was just a cry for help, but in prison I repented for everything I’d done and most of all for neglecting God.” As his faith reignited and with support from the chaplaincy, Vince began to see gospel opportunities within the confines of the prison. He started speaking in the chapel and facilitating prisoner-led prayer groups and Bible studies. “I didn’t just survive it but God used me and some people got saved,” says Vince. “When I left, I promised God two things: firstly, that I wouldn’t go back to prison and secondly that I would join a church.” Vince moved to Portsmouth and visited Harbour Church. “I said to the Lord, I’ll be honest with the first person I come across. I’ll tell them my story and if they can’t cope, I’ll move on.” Unbeknownst to Vince, the first person he met was the vicar. “His response was: ‘Fantastic, you’re really welcome – we’ve just started a ministry to prisons and would love you to get involved.’” Vince met with others who had a vision for the ministry and before long he broke his first promise to God by going into the nearest prison to give his testimony, eventually participating in and leading an Alpha course.
understanding the mindset of someone leaving prison. It grew into a further vision for the Solent area, and the formation of New Foundations Community Chaplaincy. Vince recently attended Stewardship’s Support Raising Training and there realised the importance of having a supportive team, not just financially but for encouragement and prayer too. “It can feel lonely because the work I do is so confidential, I’m speaking to very broken people and wading through pretty dark stuff. It’s a slow process of witness, love, acceptance and not judging.” What Vince longs to see is a Church that loves the most marginalised in society. “Look at what Jesus valued – giving sight to the blind and freedom to the captives. Half of the reason why people end up in prison is because they don’t have the belonging and accountability of a loving community and relationships, so it’s important they find that when they’re released.” Vince describes the events of the last couple of years as a series of opportunities. “I’ve got an urgency now after wasting years of my life in self-destruction. I’ve just got to be full on for Jesus. I can’t do lukewarm.”
Vince began to meet regularly with Christian mentor, Roger Vann. The two became good friends and shared their experiences of prison and prison leaver issues. Through a link with Above Bar Church in Southampton, Roger had the opportunity to train some of the congregation as mentors for prison leavers. Vince was able to give insight,
Catherine Durant Senior Editor
That God would raise up Christians to mentor and support prison leavers in their localities; providing love, support and community. stewardship.org.uk/partners/ vincecommunitychaplaincy 19
Connect your church with its local prison and commit to pray regularly for those ministering to prisoners and prison leavers. Look into donating laptops, tablets and phones that are essential for communication as many leave prison with nothing.
Making waves for God across the Solent “ The journey was eventful to say the least. Our car broke down five times, we missed our ferry, then had the task of rebooking tickets which, because of Covid restrictions, was a nightmare. The heat was unbearable and to top it off the ferry broke down in the middle of the Solent. At that point Emma and I just looked at each other and laughed.” 20
Church Planting
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Sunday youth service for around 50 young people. Ben was a teenager when he came to faith and his testimony provides a backdrop for his passion to teach young people about Jesus.
In a year of cancelled plans, postponed events and placing projects on hold it sounds impossible, but just over a year later the Carman family have established Altitude Church in the Bay area of the Isle of Wight and they are hugely excited about making Jesus known in this seaside community.
“I was in a gang from the age of 12 and involved in all the usual gang behaviour. After being ousted from that gang I felt extremely lonely and longed for something new. I started going to church and that changed my life.” At 17 Ben gave his life to Jesus, committed himself to serving God, and entered a lifetime of ministry.
Ben was an assistant pastor at their church in Essex, where he was responsible for the youth ministry. Assisted by Emma, the ministry grew from 10 or so children to developing a regular
Ben had always felt that the Holy Spirit has led him to a life of service, but it was a family staycation to the Isle of Wight that led him and Emma to step out in a new direction.
ittle did Ben Carman know that this hectic holiday trip to the Isle of Wight would lead him, his wife Emma and their three boys to leave their church in Essex to plant a church on the Island.
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When they finally made it to their destination and began to settle in, it was Emma who, noticing the number of churches that had been converted into flats and other buildings, turned to Ben and voiced the question, “Shall we plant a church here?” Unbelievably, Ben had been thinking the same thing and that was the moment they began to give it serious consideration.
One morning whilst Emma was on the beach, Ben was listening to a podcast by an American preacher who suggested that Christians shouldn’t be crippled by waiting for a sign from God. He spoke about trusting the Spirit in decision making rather than looking for signs. Ben laughs as he admits this advice ‘not to wait for a sign’ presented itself as a sign for him to start thinking seriously about establishing a plant; God’s irony was not lost on Ben. Emma returned excited about a devotion she had read that led her to feel confident that God was calling them to move to the Island. These events, followed by an encouraging Zoom call with a pastor, made the couple certain that they should go ahead. A few weeks later they put their house on the market and started making plans to relocate their family.
The couple sought God’s guidance and began praying for direction then and there on holiday. “I was convinced that in order to step out in faith I needed God to give me a sign,” says Ben. “I wanted a strong word from God so I could be sure this was his plan for us and not mine. Emma was more at peace with praying and seeing what happened.”
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“ I was convinced that in order to step out in faith I needed God to give me a sign. I wanted a strong word from God so I could be sure this was his plan for us and not mine.”
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There was much to organise, not least funding for their new ministry. Ben and Emma approached their church who, whilst hugely supportive, were unable to entirely fund them, so Ben began looking at options. He was introduced to Stewardship and began talking with Alex Huson from the Stewardship Church Planting Team who caught Ben’s vision to reach the lost on Isle of Wight from the start. He took Ben through Stewardship’s Church Planting Pathway.
Ben recalls, “As we were not yet a charity Alex advised us to open an Individual Partner account with Stewardship. This immediately enabled us to approach family and friends for financial support. Stewardship handled the donations, claimed the Gift Aid, and passed the money on to us. It provided our supporters with confidence to give and took the hassle out of raising financial support.” With funding coming in, things began to move quickly for Ben and Emma. They approached four individuals who agreed to become trustees, with one of them willing to become their treasurer. “Our treasurer has worked with Stewardship for many years, and he was over the moon to hear of our links to them. He now deals directly with our new church account with Stewardship, which leaves me free to concentrate on growing the church.”
“The Pathway is a phased process, which provides advice about how to fund your role as a new church leader all the way to establishing and forming a charity.” Alex explains. “Stewardship helps break down the steps involved and provides bespoke advice and assistance at each stage. It was exciting going through the process with Ben and seeing how Stewardship could positively support his ministry.” 24
“ Having a Church Partner account has enabled us to get to grips with our fundraising.” Six months after their holiday, the Carman family moved to the Isle of Wight and Altitude Church was formed. After eight weeks, the church became established as a charity and, with Alex’s guidance, Altitude opened a Stewardship Church Partner account. It was huge progress for Ben. “Having a Church Partner account has enabled us to get to grips with our fundraising and approach individuals, churches and Christian grant making organisations. It’s linked to our website so supporters can give easily and we receive the Gift Aid immediately. It’s a real game changer.”
Ben acknowledges, “All that has been achieved is through prayer. We love Matthew 16:18 where Jesus says to Peter ‘I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’”
When asked how Altitude is going, Ben lights up. “God has been gracious and kind in so many ways. Emma had the idea of providing families with breakfast bags on a weekly basis, which has given us links to the community. I have been given free food to distribute and the church now receives 15% off all grocery purchases from Morrisons supermarket. God is good.” Ben and Emma have connected with a few families who attend evening groups in their home where they study God’s word together and the church meets on Sundays in a YMCA chapel.
stewardship.org.uk/ partners/20377354
Learn about how Stewardship can help with Church Planting by visiting: stewardship.org.uk/church-planting-pathway
Shobi Selvadurai Church and Charity Customer Support Executive
For the Isle of Wight to experience a revival and for the church plant to grow spiritually, physically and financially into a church that sees the lost saved and an island restored back to Jesus.
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Follow and engage with Altitude Church on social media to help network the church with other plants and people who may want to be involved. altitudechurchiow altitudechurchuk
How to be a shrewd manager: Non-cash giving
In the parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-15), Jesus encourages us to steward our worldly wealth just as carefully as our peers and yet with a different aim – that we will be ‘welcomed into eternal dwellings’ (Luke 16:9) and entrusted with the true riches of God (Luke 16:11) as we dwell with him forever. The aim of this regular column is to help us to steward our charitable giving well by giving effectively and tax-efficiently. When we consider making a gift to our favourite cause or topping up our Stewardship account, our default option is likely to be a cash gift. If you’re a regular reader of Share, you’re probably aware of the opportunity to boost your donation with Gift Aid or even reclaim higher or additional rate Gift Aid yourself. But have you ever considered giving assets rather than cash? 26
SH ARE GIVING
FOR BUSI NE S S OW NE R S
With low interest rates on cash savings and the increasing popularity of online trading, investing in stocks or shares seems to be a growing trend. If you work for a listed company, you might receive shares in your employer as part of your employment package. Others might receive stocks and shares in an inheritance.
If you’re a business owner wanting to set aside part of the capital value in your company for charitable purposes, we may be able to accept and hold non-voting shares in your private company. Please contact us to discuss the options further.
L AND AND P RO P E RT Y If you’re planning to sell a holiday home, buyto-let or plot of land and give the proceeds to Stewardship, you could instead give us the property itself. We will ask you to make your gift by a declaration of trust, then to sell the property on the open market on our behalf. The proceeds of sale, net of conveyancing expenses and estate agent fees, will be credited to your Giving Account.
Stewardship is able to accept gifts of shares listed on any of the major global stock exchanges. You can make your gift by a simple exchange of letters, in which you inform us of your gift and we ask you to arrange sale of the shares on our behalf. The cash proceeds will then be credited to your Giving Account. If you give listed shares, units in an Authorised Unit Trust (AUT), or shares in an OEIC to Stewardship, you do not have to pay any capital gains tax (CGT) on the gift. In addition, you can deduct the market value of the shares from your taxable income for the relevant tax year, potentially reducing or even eliminating your income tax bill. Depending on your circumstances, this may be much more taxefficient than selling the shares, paying CGT, making a cash gift to Stewardship from the net proceeds and then claiming Gift Aid.
As with a gift of listed shares, you do not have to pay any CGT on the gift. In addition, you can deduct the market value of the property from your taxable income for the relevant tax year. Please bear in mind that income tax relief is only available if all co-owners want to give their entire beneficial interest to Stewardship. For more information on how these reliefs would apply to your gift of property, please visit www. gov.uk/donating-to-charity/donating-landproperty-or-shares or talk to your tax adviser.
If you don’t have enough taxable income to make full use of this relief in one tax year, you may instead wish to sell the shares, pay CGT, make a cash gift to Stewardship from the net proceeds (potentially spread over multiple tax years) and then claim Gift Aid. The pros and cons of these two strategies depend on your personal financial circumstances, so we would encourage you to talk to your tax adviser or visit www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/ donating-land-property-or-shares for more information.
To make a gift of shares or property to Stewardship, please contact the Philanthropy Services Team on 020 8418 8896 or philanthropy@stewardship.org.uk
Rachel Steeden Head of Legal Rachel is our in-house legal advisor, working with the Philanthropy Services Team to serve Christians making large charitable gifts.
If you’re a US-UK dual taxpayer, Stewardship America can accept your gift of listed shares and issue you with both US and UK tax receipts. 27
Ask Steve
Q: “I have been sent a big questionnaire by my charity’s bank: do I really need to fill this in as it seems to be asking about things that I don’t see why they need to know?”
It is important to work with your bank on this and not ignore them. However, it is also helpful if you understand the concerns they have; which will include money being sent overseas to ‘higher risk’ countries. Ignoring requests or belligerence does not help, and once a bank facility is closed it is almost impossible to find out why or get it reinstated.
You are not alone in asking questions on this. We have had quite a number of churches and Christian charities having issues with banks, questions and accounts being closed without warning. It does appear that in many ways having satisfactory banking is becoming more difficult for small charities than at any time in the last 40 years.
Even with full co-operation, the bank may not have the appetite for the risk to keep operating the account and we have been contacted by charities that have their accounts closed without much warning.
This is largely being driven by requirements that banks are increasingly under over whether they are doing enough to prevent money laundering. As a result they will go through a process of risk assessment with the customers and Christian charities will not be exempt. In fact, if they are working internationally (even to a small extent) or withdrawing cash more than most bank customers, they are more likely to be reviewed.
Given the very significant difficulties of operating without a bank account and of opening new accounts at this time, I am increasingly recommending charities have active bank accounts with two different banking organisations.
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Ask Giving Services
Stephen Mathews Senior Consultant
Q. We currently give to Stewardship to support some friends in Christian ministry, but we’re thinking about moving the rest of our giving over. What advice would you give us? With the thousands of churches, UK and overseas charities and individual partners we have registered with us already, there’s a high chance that the charities you wish to support are already registered with us, and so setting up giving to them can be done in a matter of seconds using your online account.
Q: I’ve just started a new job and I’m now paying tax. What should I do to make sure I’m claiming Gift Aid correctly? Gift Aid is an amazing gift from the UK government to the charity sector, allowing 25% tax to be recovered by a charity when a gift is made to it. This happens when the giver is a UK income or capital gains tax payer in the tax year the gift is made AND when they complete a Gift Aid declaration with the charity. Because Stewardship is a charity in its own right, we’re able to claim Gift Aid on any giving into a Stewardship giving account. Once you have signed a Gift Aid declaration, we will ensure that Gift Aid is claimed in full, so that no one misses out.
If you’re having trouble locating a charity or individual that you wish to support, do check in with the team and allow us to give you a helping hand. It’s simple to nominate a recipient to register with us and we can help to ensure things are set up smoothly for you, taking the load off your shoulders.
Our Instant Gift Aid feature means that rather than you or your chosen charity having to wait weeks to receive the Gift Aid amount, we’ll instantly cover the value of the Gift Aid, adding it to your account balance, or if you prefer, giving it direct to the cause you want to support. Many of our givers love this flexibility, with lots choosing to build up a balance using Gift Aid, setting aside a pot of money for specific appeals, or when other needs arise.
Having all your giving in one place can make it so much easier to track and manage your charitable donations - no more searching through endless bank statements (particularly when it comes to tax returns!)
Christian workers and Bible College students can also have their support (if they hold an individual partner account with us) increased in the same way: something that is unique to Stewardship.
Karis Nelson Ponnampalam Senior Giving Steward 29
Why I give Eva Onyeulo
Eva is one of our newest team members, joining our Events team to help us manage the growing amount of training and events for Churches, charities and Christian workers that we offer. 30
What causes are you particularly passionate about supporting and why?
What were you taught about generosity when you were a child?
There are two areas that I’m passionate about – one is helping ministers, ministries and churches to grow and the other is young adults finding and living for Jesus. I believe that leaders need help because people rely on them and expect so much from them, but they have challenges and struggles too.
When I was small, my parents helped many, many people with somewhere to live, food to eat and wherever else they could. They didn’t have much money, but what they did have, they were willing to share. My parents also taught me how to budget and the value of money, so thankfully, I’ve almost always been in a position to help others financially, even if I don’t have a lot coming in. Because of that giving nature I was brought up with, I know to give without expecting back.
“ Who is going to support the ones who support us?”
What’s the hardest thing about giving? I also believe in the next generation. There are things in my life that I wouldn’t have achieved if there wasn’t someone who saw the potential in me and gave me a chance to grow in it. Everyone should be given that opportunity. And when so many young people are searching in all the wrong places to fill that God-sized hole in their hearts, we need to be there to help lead them to Jesus.
It’s hard sometimes to find the balance between being a cheerful and generous giver and being prudent with your resources. Also, when your heart burns for many things, deciding what you choose to support and for how long can be challenging too. Sometimes it can be difficult to trust that the people receiving your resources are utilising them in the right way. But when you are of the mindset that ultimately you are giving back to God, any stress or worry about how it’s being used is lessened because it’s in his hands – that is no longer your concern, you’ve done your part.
What first got you interested in them? During my time at university, I was part of the leadership team for a Christian society, and it was great because we saw many touched by God. It was also very difficult, trying to find the balance with our studies, having a healthy social life and working jobs as well. It gave me an insight into both aspects: being reached and doing the reaching, and seeing the level of support needed by leaders.
What do you know now about giving that you didn’t know ten years ago? I love to give, but for a long time I struggled to receive. One of my friends taught me that by not receiving generosity you are actually robbing that person of the opportunity to be blessed by God for giving. And you may also be blocking someone from being obedient to God.
How has supporting these causes changed you? I think if God has allowed you to see a problem or issue, he’s hoping that you will respond in prayer, but also in action. I love that I can serve not just in my local church, but allow God to use me in ways and capacities that are beyond me. I can do something that may seem small, like talk through plans and organisation structures with someone, but that can have a really big impact on their work and ministry.
This was strengthened as I learned about the idea of partnership between givers and those in Christian ministry at Stewardship. It’s the idea that by receiving gifts, you are creating opportunities for others to be blessed, to support your work, but also to serve God through what you’re doing. 31
Big or small. First or last. We make every gift count. Given or received. We’re a place where connection happens – where those called to give meet those called to go. A community of generous stewards uniting to use all God has given us to love Him, love one another, and love our neighbours as ourselves. We call this active generosity. Join us. stewardship.org.uk
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