The Stewardship magazine | Spring Summer 2022
Overcoming
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Welcome A few weeks into 2022 I was walking and talking with a friend in the January sunshine. The bright and breezy weather was in contrast to our discussion of the challenges and changes we anticipated in the year ahead. Even good change felt overwhelming. We were both a bit confused as to why it seemed that life just got scarier as we got older. Shouldn’t we be feeling tough or wise after more life experience?! We had to laugh at ourselves a bit that even at our relatively young ages we were feeling worn down. But the Bible tells us it’s normal. Isaiah 40:30–31 says, ‘Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.’ (NIV) Maybe with the recent news and after the last couple of years you’re feeling a bit beaten down too, and if that’s the case, I hope the stories in this magazine, of people overcoming adversity with God and for God, will help to renew your strength also. Because feeling strong in ourselves is counterproductive. We can’t do anything on our own,
but our strength is in knowing an all-powerful Creator is with us. What he said to Paul is true for us too: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV) It’s exactly when we feel like we can’t face the tasks ahead that God can show up most powerfully. Maybe we need to remind ourselves that we don’t inconvenience God by needing him: it was Jesus’ whole desire and purpose in coming – we couldn’t save ourselves. So he loves to hear and answer us when we cry out to him in prayer. Each article follows believers who want to share Jesus’ love with others in difficulty, and every one of them needed to trust God rather than themselves, people or circumstances. I hope this issue inspires you to take a step of faith, knowing that you’re in good company, and knowing the freedom of being fully loved in all of your fear, failures and frailty. ‘He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.’ (Isaiah 40:29, NIV) Catherine Durant Senior Editor, Stewardship
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 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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Cover photo: Ukraine, Uzhgorod-Vyshne Nemeckoe: 6 February 2022 – Refugees from Ukraine on the border with Slovakia (checkpoint “Uzhgorod-Vyshne Nemeckoe”) in the Zakarpatya regions. – Photo by Fotoreserg.
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Inside this issue
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Refuge and strength
Summer saved
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Into the unknown
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Called to the North
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Impact investment
Ask Steve
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Why I give: Biff Sharrock
Refuge and strength Gill Nichol speaks to Krish Kandiah on opening doors and hearts
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couple of weeks ago I was chatting to a colleague about my plans to attend an evening event at the organisation for which we both work. She later emailed me; her email went something like this: “If you stay all evening and don’t want to drive home, you’d be very welcome to stay here – unless there is an asylum seeker in the spare room again.” I knew she’d hosted an asylum seeker for several months last year, and that she volunteered at a refugee charity, but this – said so casually, so normally! I was humbled and challenged. How truly hospitable am I? Being hospitable – the desire to share God’s love with other people via practical action – is what Krish Kandiah calls “the golden thread through the Bible.” And it’s been the golden thread through his own life too through his work with Home for Good, Hong Kong new arrivals, Afghan refugees and now, most recently, with the crisis in Ukraine. Uzhhorod, Ukraine: 27 February 2022 – A little girl holding a woman’s hand clutches a doll at the Uzhhorod-Vysne Nemecke checkpoint on the UkraineSlovakia border, Zakarpattia Region, Western Ukraine. – Photo by Ukrinform.
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Justice
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“Hospitality was important all the way through my life, starting with my mother. Although she had a living mother, because she was mixed race she was deemed to be socially unacceptable and put into an orphanage. When she was a teenager, Krish’s mother and sisters were brought to the UK by their great aunt, and at 16, his mother decided to train to be a nurse.
“ Caring for vulnerable people, especially children, is so central to God’s heart, and I thought it should be a top priority for the Church.”
But, says Krish, “She was treated with such hostility. Some patients wouldn’t let my mother touch them – they wanted a white nurse. So, she launched a one-woman resistance campaign against this xenophobia and opened up her house every Friday night to anyone who didn’t really fit in. She’d cook up a huge meal and welcome everybody. That was my childhood experience. The idea of using your home for the benefit of others became lodged in my mind.”
(birth) children when he and his wife decided they had capacity to look after more children. “I hadn’t picked up on the importance of God’s concern for vulnerable children until we started the process to become foster parents – now it’s really clear to me that caring for vulnerable people, especially children, is so central to God’s heart, and I thought it should be a top priority for the Church.” Out of this desire, the adoption and fostering charity Home for Good was born and since then Krish has channelled his passion for hospitality into work with the UK government, last year taking a particular focus on refugees.
Fast forward a decade or two. Krish, who became a Christian in his teens, was working for the Evangelical Alliance and married with three
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Lviv, Ukraine: 12 March 2022 – Girl in the coordination centre in Lviv – Photo by Fotoreserg.
“The UK opening its borders to Hong Kong citizens from January 2021 was the largest planned migration from outside of Europe since Windrush, when the UK did a terrible job at welcoming people from the Caribbean. Fifty years later we’re still reaping the consequences of that inhumanity and intolerance. So I thought, wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could flip that and help churches lay down a red carpet for the Hongkongers.”
four times the size as 150 Hongkongers have joined the congregation. Or King’s Church in Southampton, whose welcome team even had t-shirts printed with ‘welcome’ in Cantonese. One woman told Krish, “I gave up on Jesus 30 years ago in Hong Kong, but because of the welcome this church has shown me, I’ve come to faith and I’m praying that my husband will too.”
Amid the challenging backdrop of the UK lockdown and a spike in hate crime towards people from Southeast Asian appearance, UKHK, a group of like-minded charities, set out to wrap their arms around the migrating Hongkongers.
UKHK’s work attracted great media coverage, and this, together with Krish’s profile in government circles, led the government to ask for help as the first refugees from Afghanistan arrived – a result of the US withdrawal. Using the same collaborative approach, Afghan Welcome was launched in August 2021.
Thousands of Hongkongers have been warmly welcomed into UK churches and helped to settle into new lives. There’s a Chinese church in Reading which, before lockdown, had a congregation of 50 people attending, but is now
Once again, charities and groups with a similar passion were gathered to welcome displaced people to the UK. This has taken place against the backdrop of a difficult national conversation about immigration, yet both UKHK and 7
Clockwise from left: Warsaw, Poland: 9 March 2022 – Volunteers help refugees from Ukraine at the railway station in Warsaw, Poland – Photo by OlyaSolodenko. Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine: 27 February 2022 – people getting humanitarian aid from the Red Cross – Photo by Fotoreserg. Uzhgorod, Ukraine: 8 March 2022 – Volunteers distribute humanitarian supplies at one of the bases in Transcarpathian region – Photo by Fotoreserg.
Afghan Welcome are geo-politically neutral. “As people arrive in our country they become our neighbours, and there is so much biblical imperative for us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves: to imagine what life would be like in their shoes, and to find a way to care for them. As we demonstrate God’s love, people often want to know more about the source of our love.”
Krish and his team didn’t want to start a new charity – that would take too much time – so they gathered together existing Christian charities with a shared passion and asked Stewardship if they were able to help. “The way Stewardship were willing to think creatively and sacrificially about generosity has allowed me and my team to operate a thousand times faster than we would otherwise have been able to do.”
“ The way Stewardship were willing to think creatively and sacrificially about generosity has allowed me and my team to operate a thousand times faster than we would otherwise have been able to do.”
Rhian Canning, Head of Client Operations for Philanthropy, explained: “The charities who Krish was working with already received funding from Stewardship, so we were able to quickly put in place a solution to meet the scale and urgency of the funding. The initiative and Stewardship were in missional unity: it was an exceptional approach to an exceptional set of circumstances.” Krish’s initial focus for 2022 was The Hospitality Pledge – a simple way to regain hospitality after months of lockdowns and start displaying God’s love to those around us. But little did any of us 8
to be thinking what we can do to play our part alongside our European neighbours,” said Krish. Sending out a quick plea by tweet asking for help, Krish was encouraged as people came forward to offer their skills so that within days they managed to set up a website, as well as a donation page with Stewardship for The Sanctuary Foundation. Churches, businesses, families and individuals can all get involved to pledge to be a sponsor for a Ukrainian family escaping the conflict. “A recent survey showed 75% of the population do want to do more to help refugees. We can show the government through these pledges that people are really willing to help.” Krish explained that it doesn’t have to be putting up a refugee in your house, it’s just about pledging to do what you can to help – whether that might be picking people up from the airport, helping them to settle in or to find what they need. “Imagine the difference we could make if every church in the country was up for being a sponsor.”
know that soon there would be another nation in crisis; another country’s people forced to flee for safety or to face the unknown horrors of war.
So, how truly hospitable are we?
With 1.7 million people displaced in only the first 12 days of the conflict in Ukraine, there was a clear need for another wave of hospitality. “We need
Gill Nichol Contributing Writer for Stewardship
stewardship.org.uk/partners /sanctuaryfoundation
For peace in Ukraine, welcome and safety for those fleeing the country and a team of people to help provide the skills and resources needed to love and support the refugees arriving in the UK.
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Pledge your support for Ukrainian refugee families at sanctuaryfoundation.org.uk For Afghan families visit afghanwelcome.org To support those arriving from Hong Kong visit ukhk.org
Summer saved
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eremy Smith, founder of Camp XL, describes the feelings he experienced in 2020 when it became clear that, due to the pandemic, Christian residential camps for young people would not be able to go ahead. The uncertainty continued as multiple lockdowns ensued and no one had any idea how long it would continue.
“I can’t overstate the fear we felt. It was close to unbridled panic. I was awake at night thinking, does this put us out of business? It was a serious possibility that the initiative I’d dreamt up and worked on for over a decade could be gone for good.”
He is clear that they were not unique in feeling that way: “I have friends in the restaurant business who were hit far worse. A lot of my worries were self-protective, but there was also huge sadness and frustration that we wouldn’t be able to help young people to meet Jesus for the first time or encourage them in their walk. That’s what energises us; that’s the reason we started.” Since establishing in 2007, Camp XL has organised dozens of Christian activity camps. From water sports to movie making, football skills to photography, or, for those simply looking to chill with friends, Camp XL has the perfect residential holiday. With such a variety to choose from, their programme captures the attention of young people. “Often we have children and youth with little or no Christian background attending our camps. It gives us a unique opportunity to share the gospel.”
Sports and Recreation
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Previously, Camp XL took the bold step of securing their own premises. Jeremy explains: “Camp organisers spend a large proportion of their time trying to book boarding schools or activity centres, and the process can be tedious, complicated and expensive. Recently third parties have become more involved in determining what can be taught on their premises, and as a result some venues have prevented Christian organisations from using their space.” He is convicted that religious freedom in the UK is something we should all be praying about. “Having our own premises gives us the freedom to teach the Bible.”
The team immediately sought advice from Stewardship. “Three years ago, we decided to take on employees, and registered with the Stewardship Payroll Bureau which offers charities like ours a payroll scheme. When lockdown came about, I spoke with Mark from the Payroll Bureau, and he took care of all the practicalities of administering the furlough scheme. They advised me instantly and dealt with all the paperwork, so I never had to contact the HMRC which was a real relief. Stewardship was a godsend.” Camp XL contacted supporters for prayer and, where appropriate, financial assistance, and these supporters protected their future. “Had it not been forthcoming, we would have had to lay off staff and close for good. Those supporters who increased or started giving didn’t just buy us time but literally kept us in business.” The prayer and support kept their spirits up. “It made us feel we weren’t alone and that the work did matter to more than just us. We were despondent, but every email, note and direct message kept us fighting.”
A beautiful Georgian manor house located on the Worcester/Hereford border, Gaines Manor has acres of open space and a good number of recreational facilities, making it the perfect home for Camp XL. “God has been magnificent in providing us with this amazing facility. It’s meant we can use our time to plan our camps rather than secure venues, and most importantly to teach the Bible.” But when the pandemic hit, greater challenges for Camp XL began. “Lockdown dramatically impacted us. Churches and schools that were booked to use our venue cancelled and our commercial income fell by 80%. We genuinely feared Camp XL wouldn’t survive.”
The team are grateful to Stewardship too. “We subscribe to the Consultancy Helpline which provides us with access to charity professionals who can provide guidance and support whenever required. It gives us genuine peace of mind.”
“ It’s meant we can use our time to plan our camps rather than secure venues, and most importantly to teach the Bible.” 12
Owning Gaines Manor turned out to be a huge blessing. “With all the uncertainty surrounding the rules, many camp organisers struggled, but when restrictions were relaxed we were able to react quickly, and at the end of June we opened bookings. Amazingly, every camp was oversubscribed, and we even ran an additional new camp. God provided everything we needed.” “It was amazing to see kids running around, having fun and being able to hug each other after the pandemic, but that’s not why we do it.” Jeremy shares an example of one 14-year-old who attended the surfing camp he ran in Croyde. “He described himself as a strong atheist but came along with friends. To see him actually engaging and questioning with the Bible open was great, and at the end of the week he asked if he could come again. It’s knowing that what we’re doing makes a difference in lives for eternity that keeps us going.”
of the room had their hands up. He recently received a message from a former camp attendee, now in his mid-twenties and getting baptised after previously wobbling in his faith. “We’d not spoken in 10 years, but he wanted to let me know how foundational the camps were for his faith.”
It’s also encouraging for the leaders to see young people who profess faith but might be one of a very small number in their own church finding new Christian friends. “Seeing them in huddles praying together, or when they understand a familiar Sunday school story in different way – those moments are fantastic.”
What’s next for Camp XL? “God willing, we are looking forward to welcoming young people back this summer. We want kids to feel safe to be themselves, to have fun and to think and question with no pressure. We’d love for them to fall in love with the Lord Jesus. That makes surviving the pandemic worthwhile.”
A former pastor of Jeremy’s got him involved in running camps when during a Sunday service he asked for show of hands for anyone who’d come to faith or been encouraged through a Christian camp. Jeremy was stunned when over two thirds
Shobi Selvadurai Church and Charity Customer Support Executive
stewardship.org.uk/ partners/20101944
Around the issue of religious freedom: that Christian camps would be allowed to continue teaching young people about the Lord Jesus, without restriction.
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Camp XL would love to hear from anyone able to join their volunteer teams for a week during the summer. A servantheart and a love for the Lord Jesus are the only requirements. Apply at campxl.org
Into the unknown Carl and Viv Palmer are stepping off the cliff At least that’s how they describe the move away from secure jobs in London for 28 years, to unsalaried work in a small community in Staveley, Chesterfield. Carl has been a pastor for many years with Viv serving alongside him, giving the churches they have been with ‘two for the price of one’.
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UK Poverty and Debt
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arl didn’t grow up in a Christian home but attended a Billy Graham rally in a football stadium when he was 18. Carl says, “I was part of the Boys Brigade and signed up for what I thought was a coach trip to Norwich – I had no idea we were going to hear an evangelist speaking.” But he never looked back after giving his life to Jesus that night.
Evangelism
Viv grew up in a Christian family who took her to church and tried to help her read the Bible, but with only a King James Version, it was hard for her to decipher what Christianity was all about. Viv wanted to live well and had a sense of needing to do what was right but was very aware of her faults and couldn’t see how to make living for God work. Enter Carl. Carl and Viv met as they both sang in a gospel choir. Carl spent time with Viv explaining to her the love and grace of God, how even though we fail and sin, God welcomes us back when we turn to him for forgiveness. After one such evening at the choir, Viv went home and prayed. She asked God to come into her life and felt an immense sense that the burden of never being good enough was being taken off her shoulders.
“ There are many who live in places that can hardly be called communities. They are isolated, lonely, in desperate poverty and often struggling with mental health issues or addiction.”
So what cliff are we talking about here? Carl and Viv have given up ‘regular work’ to serve with Edge Ministries. They have been inspired by the vision of Edge to go to forgotten people in forgotten places. Often in urban areas there are people with great needs, but there are also various community facilities. But some areas in the UK are barren. There are many who live in places that can hardly be called communities. They are isolated, lonely, in desperate poverty and often struggling with mental health issues or addiction.
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“ Building relationships and loving people is so important: not pre-judging others but listening well. You have to really love the people God loves, but you also have to lead with Jesus.”
The work of Edge is three-fold. They have Edge Communities, made up of Christians committed to serving those around them and enjoying fellowship together. Then there are Edge Centres – these are hubs where they run free drop-in cafés, set up toddler groups, give advice for those struggling with debt, benefits or addiction, depending on the needs of the local community. They even wash, iron and distribute old school uniforms to give to families who struggle to clothe their children for school. And for anyone wanting to join in with the vision of reaching the poor in areas that have traditionally been neglected by the Church, you can be a part of the broader Edge Network. But how, exactly, does Edge bridge the gap between being involved in social action and sharing the gospel? Viv says, “Building relationships and loving people is so important: not pre-judging others but listening well. You have to really love the people God loves, but you also have to lead with Jesus. Modelling to others how you put your life in his hands and showing what happens when you do that.”
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In all their conversations with local councils or other agencies they partner with, they are clear that the gospel is front and centre: “We make sure people know that we are ‘good news’ people, from the outset.” They’re clear that it’s Jesus who’s transformed their lives because, as Carl says, “People end up thinking that you are just a really great person, and that Christianity can’t be for them, because they are not as good as you.”
pray for you and support you financially is a real blessing. The stumbling block for Carl was wondering whether they would end up living in poverty themselves. But he realised through the training that it’s ok for Christian workers to receive a decent salary. Knowing how generous God is by nature means not only will he be generous to you, but that he wants you to live generously by giving out of what he provides.
Carl and Viv have always experienced the provision of God in their lives. They have noticed a pattern of stepping out in obedience to God while not knowing what will happen financially, only to see God provide soon after. They opened their Individual Partner Account in 2021 to make giving to them easier and in the first week after their move from London, they received enough funds to provide for their moving and living costs for a couple of months as well as to give to those God placed on their hearts.
Carl also realised that he had a fear of asking others to join their partner team. He knew that part of him didn’t want to be reliant on others for his finances, but he recognised it as illogical, because we are all reliant on God for our whole lives, even our very next breath. There is no real difference in trusting God to provide through the generous giving of others and trusting God to provide through a salary – everything belongs to God anyway. Although this move and financial life change is daunting and staring over the edge of the cliff can be scary, Carl and Viv know that they are where God wants them to be and they want to learn to trust him more.
Carl and Viv enrolled on the Stewardship Support Raising Training to learn more about the best way of growing their partner team. It’s been a great help as they thought about their new way of life without a regular income. Viv was even offered a number of jobs in the first few weeks they moved to Chesterfield but felt God didn’t want her to take them. Instead, she wanted to be available to do the work God had put before her to do.
Jo Arkell Partnerships Executive
The training helped them both to see that living with a team of partners who encourage you,
Images by Magdalena MaLu Photography
For Carl and Viv as they work to pastor the local Edge Ministries team and develop useful resources. stewardship.org.uk/ partners/carlandvivpalmer 17
Visit Edge Ministries’ website for ways to get involved. edgeministries.net
I’m passionate about Local Church, Prayer and Worship, Children and Youth and my music
Karis Nelson Ponnampalam Senior Giving Steward 18
Before I had a Giving Account, I felt like I was giving blindly. I wasn’t sure where my money was going, nor did I feel like I kept track of what I had given or who I was giving to. I was reluctant to give more to charities as I didn’t feel I had control over what I was giving.
What I like about the Giving Account is how flexible it is. Not only can I have my regular giving set up for my monthly tithing, my sponsored children, and a few others I support, I know I still have enough to give to a charity or individual who may need some extra support throughout the year on more of a one-off basis.
There is a line in a worship song which resonates with me: “Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Everything I am for your Kingdom’s cause.” God’s heart breaks for the things that are broken in this world, and I want to be able to care about the broken causes in the world. We are called to be generous with what we have – whether that is our resources, our finances, or our time.
It fills me with joy knowing that I can build a balance within my account to really make an impact. I can look at my Stewardship balance and say, “Yes! I’ve got this much money to give away; I can support this charity.” There is something extremely freeing about knowing that you have funds set aside to give and that when you do give, it blesses others. I feel blessed to be able to support others and be able to contribute in a small way to the kingdom work that is going on around the world.
While my heart was in the right place, my giving was a bit erratic, and I wasn’t doing myself any favours trying to manage my giving along with the rest of my finances.
Once you've opened a Giving Account with Stewardship, you can start to enjoy all the benefits that the account has to offer:
Since I have set up my Stewardship Giving Account, I can easily manage how much I give, helping me become more generous. I can prioritise my giving through my Giving Account and make an impact on the causes I care about. This has, in turn, helped me manage the rest of my finances and allowed me to know that I can tithe properly along with setting aside additional funds to give to other causes that I might come across without going into overdraft. I no longer have to think to myself, “I would love to give, but I just don’t have the money to do that right now.”
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“ There is something extremely freeing about knowing that you have funds set aside to give and that when you do give, it blesses others.”
access your account 24/7, giving you total control over your charitable giving.
Find out more about the Giving Account stewardship.org.uk /giving-account 19
Called to the north For Jônatas Bragatto, preaching is in his blood. Coming from an Italian family who immigrated to Brazil, his grandparents became born-again believers after his grandfather experienced a miraculous healing from a tumour, when doctors were convinced he would never recover. He became a minister and he raised 13 children with his wife whilst planting churches in Brazil. 20
Church Planting
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ônatas’s father followed his grandfather’s footsteps in ministry and Jônatas himself preached his first sermon at 11 years old after an encounter with God. Seventeen years on, he’s still preaching, albeit in the very different setting of a council estate in the North East of England.
with a proposal that he and other young ministers would help to revitalise aging congregations. He moved to Middlesbrough and became the minister of a very small church of three or four people, who hadn’t had a pastor for around a decade.
Back in Brazil, Jônatas worked as a travelling evangelist and teacher until he was invited to guest lecture at a Bible college in London in 2016. “I never wanted, expected or thought God would bring me to the UK. But during the month I was here, I understood that God was calling me to this country,” says Jônatas. He went back to Brazil to organise his papers, sold everything he had, and arrived at Gatwick Airport in 2017 with three pieces of luggage and £130 in his pocket, believing that God would open doors.
But early last year everything changed when advanced corruption within the denomination began to come to the surface. “It really was a hurricane – a complete nightmare,” says Jônatas, who is unable to give many details due to ongoing investigations into the denomination by the National Fraud Police and the Charity Commission. To add insult to injury, he was made redundant and dismissed illegally without the financial means to contest it, and the church was closed.
And they did open. He soon realised that God was calling him to the North of England, so Jônatas joined a small Anglican denomination,
“I prayed, asking God: what do you want from me? Do you want me to move to another area?” But Jônatas felt convicted 21
“ I felt God telling me too that I needed to continue the work in this place.”
each month. “Every Sunday is a surprise with what we’re seeing God doing,” he says. The church is located in Thorntree estate in east Middlesbrough – the fifth most deprived estate in the UK, according to government statistics. Jônatas explains why he chose there: “I was praying for the area and I asked God: where do you want us to be based? We had been worshipping in the town centre but people don’t live there any more so I wanted to work in an estate. I looked at the map, and I found out that the last evangelical church in Thorntree had closed 14 years beforehand.”
by the passage in Acts chapter 18, where Paul wanted to leave Corinth, but God spoke to him in a dream, saying: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ (Acts 18:9-10, NIV). “I felt God telling me too that I needed to continue the work in this place.”
“One of the reasons why churches don’t want to plant in places like these is because most of the people in the area are on benefits or have very little income, so it’s not financially viable. You need external funding because you can’t expect, at least initially, any money coming in. This place was abandoned.”
Jônatas went on to plant Word and Spirit Church, an independent reformed church whose inauguration service was on Easter Sunday last year, with a modest three members, including Jônatas. Since then, the church has seen miracles
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Jônatas began a relationship with a community hub there, which they currently rent for their services. When he first spoke to the manager, she told him if they were coming there to do charity work, the area didn’t need any more of those organisations. “I said, ‘You’ve hit the nail on the head, because we don’t have the money to do charity work! We’re here to do spiritual work with people.’”
to 18 official members, with Sunday attendance in the thirties. Ten or more of those members are students at Teesside university, and the church has been particularly reaching students with a Hindu background. One of the converts is a student from an orthodox Hindu family from the highest caste in India who threatened to disown her if she decided to be baptised. She first came to the service after seeing an Instagram video and from there invited Jônatas to visit her house and share the gospel with her and her housemates.
When the church plant first began in early 2021, the pandemic meant they couldn’t meet, so they started speaking to people in the streets of the neighbourhood. It was there where they first began to see fruit – people asking for prayer and help and even joining them for worship outside in the sunshine.
Jônatas was further encouraged when on Christmas day eight new people attended – six of them from Hindu backgrounds. “One of the guys said that he understood the meaning of Christmas and was shocked that God could become a human being. He said he would speak to his boss about changing his shift pattern to be able to attend on Sundays, and he’s been coming ever since.”
Jônatas utilises social media as an evangelistic tool and a lot of their growth has come from people in the area who had seen their videos. In nine months, the church has grown from three
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“ I had all the reasons in the world to leave but our heart is here. I’m certain that this is where God wants us to bear fruit.”
I don’t have a salary or a fixed income at all. I’ve only been surviving because of gifts into my Stewardship Individual Partner account, which we set up in June – I don’t have any other financial security.” Sometimes Jônatas is overwhelmed by how much there is to do. As well as pastoring, he does all the media work for the social channels. “If we had more resources, we could ask others to do it which would take the burden off. But I have lacked nothing from the first day I arrived here as an Italian Brazilian missionary. I believe as we continue obeying, he will continue to provide because it’s his church and his vision.”
At the same time as evangelism, it’s important to Jônatas to be working on effective discipleship. In 2022 he is starting small groups, developing a course called ‘First steps in faith’, as well as vocational ministry training for those who wish to serve in leadership.
“We’re in one of the poorest areas of the UK, with no revenue coming from tithes and offerings, and a very traumatic background because of what the previous church went through. But we’re here because God gave us a vision for the north-east, to continue planting churches. I had all the reasons in the world to leave but our heart is here. I’m certain that this is where God wants us to bear fruit.”
But the growth of the church has come with many challenges. “We’ve been attacked in the street doing evangelism. There are a lot of gangs in the area; it’s a dangerous place but my wife and I know that we’re here for a purpose,” says Jônatas. They also want to register the church as a charity, but don’t have the funds to be able to do so. The income from the church itself just about covers the rent and expenses. “We’re moving by faith not by sight because what we see before us is a financially unviable church. But what God has done has been astonishing.
stewardship.org.uk/ partners/20371715
Catherine Durant Senior Editor
For more open doors for the student and youth mission in Teesside University. Pray for new mission partners and financial supporters for the ministry work in Teesside and for more leaders and ministry vocations. 25
To find out more about Word and Spirit Church, visit: wsteesside wsteesside bit.ly/3HOQyJx or drop an email to wsteesside@gmail.com
Impact investment: putting our money where our mission is
What is impact investment?
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
You’ve probably heard of ‘ethical investment’ or ‘ESG’. This involves negative screening, to weed out investments which create social harm. At Stewardship, our policy is not to invest in companies with a substantial link to armaments, pornography, tobacco, gambling, high interest rate lending, alcohol, tar sands or thermal coal. We believe that investing in such activities, even if we use the proceeds to fund charitable work, would harm our Christian witness and dishonour God.
(Matthew 5:16, NIV)
How does Stewardship invest our funds? Through the growth of our community and your generosity, total assets held by Stewardship exceeded £200m for the first time in 2021. A large proportion of this balance sheet represents funds entrusted to us by our givers.
Impact investment, also called social investment, goes a step further. Instead of merely screening out investments which cause social harm, we proactively make investments which promote the Christian faith or more widely the common good of our society. For example, our Church and Charity Lending Team strengthen churches and Christian ministries by making loans in support of building projects.
We’ve recently launched our new Investment Policy (stewardship.org.uk/blogs/newinvestment-strategy). This explains how we are seeking to prioritise investments which align with our Christian values, bring glory to God and achieve both kingdom impact and financial return. 26
What about my Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund?
As we steward our God-given resources, we need to consider whether our investment choices may in fact be furthering the problems our giving tries to solve. For example, are we donating to health charities whilst investing in tobacco, funding conservation whilst investing in polluters or aiding poverty relief whilst investing in predatory lenders?
Perhaps you want to build up a balance in your Giving Account during your working lifetime so that you can continue to support your favourite causes during your retirement. Or perhaps you want to give a lump sum from a bonus or inheritance and then request regular support for churches, charities or individuals in ministry over a period of years. Have you considered how this balance could be put to kingdom use in the meantime? In an era of high inflation, the funds in your Giving Account will achieve less kingdom impact in the future than they would do if granted out now – you can read more about this in our blog. If you’re expecting to hold funds in your Giving Account for a few years or longer, you may wish to explore the investment options available for your account.
Some impact investments will have target returns which match those of a traditional financial investment; others might involve accepting a lower rate of financial return or higher risk of financial loss in order to achieve kingdom impact consistently and not only at the point when the funds are granted out. Making an impact investment can even help your generosity to go further – once funds are repaid, they can be ‘recycled’ into another impact investment or used for grants.
For Donor Advised Fund balances, we offer a variety of pooled investment funds, including a new Impact Fund which aims to allocate a portion of the portfolio to impact investments that address environment and social needs aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
How can I find out more? Our Investment Manager, Wai Yee Tsang, is publishing a series of blogs looking at these issues in more detail. You can find them on our website at stewardship.org.uk/topics/philanthropy
If you hold a Philanthropy Fund, you can nominate an investment for us to make using your balance. This might be a managed investment portfolio, or it might be a loan to a specific church or charity you want to support, perhaps at a concessionary interest rate.
If you’d like to discuss the investment options for your Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund, please contact the Philanthropy Services Team on 020 8418 8896 or philanthropy@stewardship.org.uk
But doesn’t the Parable of the Talents encourage us to focus on financial return? In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus encourages us to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us, knowing that one day he will return as judge. One aspect of good stewardship is of course to seek an appropriate financial return. However, we also need to consider the non-financial consequences of an investment, whether good or bad.
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. 27
Ask Steve
Lessons to learn from 2021
ATTITUDE The danger of dominance
The longer I have worked with churches and charities, the more that I have seen the harmful impact when one person dominates. It is often (but not always) the ‘founder’ or, if not the founder, someone who has, by their skill and personality, driven the ministry forward. It is called ‘founder’s syndrome’. There is a vital place for leadership which is clear, dynamic and inspiring. But I would add one word to that, without which those others are important – but ultimately a liability and not an asset. That word is ‘teachable’.
We learn from mistakes. It is always better to learn from others’ mistakes than from your own (although sadly we are never exempt!) and 2021 has been a year when there were mistakes made in the realm of Christian charity finance and governance that we can all learn from. I have picked three that I hope are useful.
In 2021 we have seen an international Christian ministry, a large church in the UK, and a number of more local ministries have their effectiveness seriously damaged with financial mismanagement, complaints of abuse, team members ‘frozen out’, and the key leaders resigning as a result of personal dominance.
I have categorised them under the headings of attitude, accountability and administration. These three characteristics form the basis of our AAA rating for churches and charities – or what makes an organisation good with money.
To maintain a healthy attitude, key leaders need to be ‘servant leaders’ who encourage other views, receive criticism, and develop team leadership. 28
Stephen Mathews Senior Consultant
To create the environment where that will happen, Christian ministries need to develop a constructive ‘culture of challenge’ – with everyone clearly accountable. I believe it is the responsibility of all in spiritual leadership and charity governance to proactively create and safeguard that culture.
ACCOUNTABILITY Financial controls are worth investment
In early 2021 it was reported that a volunteer church treasurer had been imprisoned for stealing £130,000 from a parish in north London over a 5-year period. The individual was in charge – with no effective oversight – of the parish finances. He was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, plausible and a church member: everything a treasurer should be. But he was also a ‘lover of money’ and the police described him as ‘a most devious individual’.
ADMINISTRATION Read your constitution
This may sound obvious but many trustee groups do not read their constitution. They assume what it permits or forbids. An example, which we see replicated across the UK in Christian charities, is that of employing someone who is a trustee when there is no permission for this in the charity’s legal governing document. The consequences of this are at the least embarrassing and administratively painful. At worst, they can result in resignations and potential financial costs and repayments (fortunately more in theory than in practice).
The lack of effective financial safeguards let him be tempted, and hugely damage himself, his family and the church. Sadly, this is not a one-off incident, as at Stewardship we hear this frequently – in churches and charities just like yours and mine. Financial controls are not exciting, but they are a vital part of the fabric of finance.
Constitutions can be confusing. If it is not clear to you, take advice. It is not expensive and certainly cheaper than dealing with the fallout when a board hasn’t understood it. It may not be earth shattering, but simply reading and being aware of key issues in your constitution is a legally vital requirement and when not done can have major implications. 29
Why I give Biff Sharrock Stewardship giver
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Who or what or what event has been the biggest influence on your giving?
Then, if I do give, I am often tempted to boast about my generosity (Matthew 6:1-4 is a great verse to challenge me with this). And then finally, with direct debits and regular giving made easier, I am tempted to be proud and think to myself: “I’ve got my giving sorted”. When something comes up that’s more than our ‘giving budget’, it’s then that I am struck that I’ve lost sight of the sacrificial aspect of giving that God encourages us to pursue. Praise God that he forgives me when I go wrong and that I can pray to him for help in this area.
Undoubtedly the biggest influence on my giving was becoming a Christian after university and acknowledging that Jesus lived a perfect, sacrificial life, yet died for me. While living in Switzerland after graduating, I met a couple who were on mission from the US. I had a lot of questions for them, particularly about the Bible’s more difficult teachings, but they helped point me to Jesus’ death and resurrection: did I believe that really happened? That was the cornerstone. After looking at the evidence I put my trust in Jesus.
What causes are you particularly passionate about and why? Apart from my church, there are three causes that I consciously aim to support: the persecuted church, work with students, and mission work in the City of London. We are so fortunate in the UK to be able to be publicly Christian, read the Bible, meet up for services and pray together openly. It’s easy to take for granted, and so it’s on my heart to support those who don’t have these freedoms. Secondly, having only come to know Jesus after university, I can see how pivotal university can be for young people – both already committed Christians as well as those exploring. Finally, London is a place where thousands of people come in and out and don’t know Jesus. Working in the City I see first hand the pursuit of work, money and status, and the contrasting need for Jesus, and so it is an area I am keen to support.
“ When we accept Christ, he changes us.” Before then, I knew that being generous was a ‘nice’ thing to do but that was where it ended. With no one to be accountable to and no motivation other than a vague trying to be selfless, I didn’t feel hugely compelled to give and mostly brushed past any feelings of guilt. When we accept Christ, he changes us. By no means do I do it perfectly now, but I do see God shaping my heart in this area day by day. It’s the reason why I now give to others and try to be generous. What’s the best example you’ve seen of generosity in action?
What’s the best resource that helps you give generously?
Sacrifice and generosity go hand in hand. Our pastor, with his wife and family, moved into London to plant the church I attend, moving into a small flat on a council estate in central London. Their obvious sacrifice of comfort is a constant example to me of what gospel living and generosity can look like.
This may be the driest answer ever given to this question, but for me it genuinely is as basic as having a giving budget as a baseline and setting up standing orders. Stewardship helps with this – I have a monthly standing order set up to put money into my Giving Account where I can choose who to support. As I mentioned earlier, battling my sinful heart is the hardest thing for me about giving. By working out an amount per month to give that still feels sacrificial, and then setting up a standing order to put that money in the ‘giving’ bucket, I am able to cheerfully give generously.
What’s the hardest thing about giving? Without doubt it’s fighting the sin which shows up in all stages of giving! Firstly, I can be selfish and want to keep my money or time to myself. 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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