Once a year, it is sensible to encourage people to review their giving. Some churches or dioceses may wish to do this using an annual "Stewardship Sunday".

This annual renewal of giving should normally be accompanied by : 
i) Appropriate teaching on Christian Giving principles and 
ii) An expression of the current and future financial needs of the parish ie how it links with the parish's vision for the future.

The ideal scenario is that this is not the only time that either are presented in the Church's calendar, and that both elements are further communication of known material. In line with (i) above, all concerned should be encouraged to review their giving according to the established theological principles. This will provide an opportunity to those who were not party to recent campaigns or renewals to do so, and at the same time allow others to modify their giving to allow for changes in circumstance that have occurred over the past year. It is right to encourage everyone to take the opportunity to review their giving prayerfully even if they finish up with a 'no change' situation.

All should be asked to fill in 'pledge' forms after reviewing their giving, as this will provide not only a commitment by the person concerned, but also an accurate forecast of the total income to be expected in the year ahead.

Tailoring the Renewal to meet the needs of the church

There are a number of ways that the budgetary information can be presented, according to the parish situation;

1) If the parish has recently undergone a major giving initiative, and the projected giving is in line with the budget, ie no increase is required, it is important to communicate this. This is probably a simple communication via letter or from the front of church with the following elements: 

• Thank you 
• We're on track to meet our budget. 
• Exciting things that are planned to happen this year include….. 
• This couldn't be achieved without your generosity.

2) The second level of annual renewal is for inflationary increases. If your budget is broadly in line with last year, with increases largely due to inflation, then this can be presented as such. Most people will receive an annual increase in wages, pension or benefits, and those who give by standing order or by weekly envelopes may need reminding to increase their giving in line with this. Elements of the communication include: 

• Thank you for your current giving
• Budget overview - costs rising in line with inflation. 
• To avoid a deficit, we need to ask donors if they would be willing to increase their giving in line with inflation too. 
• Link the mission of the Church with the generosity of donors.

3) Where there is an exciting new project that the parish wants to undertake, it can be an opportunity to present this, and to ask people to consider increasing their giving to pay for this. (Best practice is to avoid creating a special or "restricted" fund for the additional item - merely to say that the new youth worker will cost an additional £10,000, and therefore we would ask you to consider whether you could increase your monthly or weekly giving to contribute towards this additional cost in the budget.) This will probably require a letter presenting the facts for people to take away, together with presentation of the need from the front of church. Again, the communication should include :

• Thanking people for current giving 
• Explaining the new initiative and its benefits and costs, linking the vision and mission of the Church with biblical principles. 
• Inviting people to go away and prayerfully consider whether they are able to increase their giving to contribute towards this.

4) The final level of annual renewal is a giving campaign. This is likely to involve at least five elements : 

• a more major presentation of the financial needs of the church 
• indications of current giving, 
• teaching on Christian giving 
• opportunity for personal prayer about giving, 
• followed by offering a pledge.

This pledge should be followed up with a letter thanking them for their offering.  

If a parish is undergoing this more significant campaign, we suggest that you consider using the resources provided on the Giving in Grace programme.