Giving

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16

Often people think that giving - or stewardship - involves asking the congregation for money every so often, particularly if there is a financial crisis in the parish. However, there is much more to stewardship than money. 

Everything we have comes from God – our families and friends, the world we live in, all our possessions and money as well.  God even gave his own son, for our salvation and is an example of his unbounded love and generosity.

Stewardship isn’t about money. It is about generosity.  It is about faith and discipleship.

On this page we cover information to help you develop a culture of joyful generosity in your church:

Undertaking a PCC Giving Review
Generosity Week
Worship Resources
Grants to support your mission and ministry
Other useful links and resources
 

We also have dedicated sections on:

Online giving
Running a stewardship campaign
Legacies
Preaching Generosity - a weekly, bite-sized preaching resource, produced by the Diocese of Rochester in partnership with St Augustine’s College of Theology and the National Giving Team of the Church of England.

Understanding PCC Giving Review

Generosity is rooted in our relationship with one another and with God. That generosity gives everyone an opportunity to share in the mission of Christ and the ministry which supports that mission.

I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

The PCC Giving Review is a resource to empower PCCs to think about their giving. It is based on a national resource but adapted for use in the Diocese of Rochester.

There are three parts to it:

• A series of questions to encourage your PCC to think about why people give, and about generosity in a broader sense than money. 
• A series of tick boxes, which should show where your gaps in good giving practice are.
• Three simple actions to make a difference.

Download the PCC Giving Review

Generosity Week

It takes time, support and above all prayer to grow a generous culture. The Generosity Week materials are a national resource aimed at giving you and your communities the opportunity to reflect in the generosity of God and the generosity in your own church.

You can run Generosity Week to coincide with your Harvest Festival. As churches celebrate Harvest at different times this could be at any time between August to October.

You can also adapt it to a time that suits you.

You may wish to use all the resources available or just a selection. Resources for churches include:

• A Generosity Service: Worship materials for two Sundays at the beginning and end of Generosity Week
• Guidance showing how to engage the wider community with The Generosity Week
• Activities to help your church discover and share its generous stories
• A social media and marketing toolkit to help you promote your church’s Generosity Week.
• Eight podcasts exploring generosity stories from different churches across the country
• Daily devotionals on a Generosity theme
• A daily generosity activity to complete each day of The Generosity Week. 

Worship resources
 

There are well over 2,000 verses in the Bible about money, wealth and possessions. 

• You can find some scripture readings on giving and generosity here 
• For hymn suggestions relating to generosity and stewardship click here
• Download a template Generosity Service of the Word (adaptable example from St Peter and St Paul's, Aylesford)

Grants to support your mission and ministry

The Diocese has a number of grant opportunities to support parishes with their mission and ministry. Find out more in our Grants section

Useful links and resources

The following websites and resources have some helpful information on giving and stewardship which you may also find useful:

• Preaching Generosity - A new, weekly, bite-sized preaching resource, produced by the Diocese of Rochester in partnership with St Augustine’s College of Theology and the National Giving Team of the Church of England.
• Giving in Grace - a very comprehensive website from the Diocese of Liverpool covering just about anything you can think of in relations to generosity and giving.  It can be found at 
• Parish Buying - The Church of England’s co-operative buying service negotiates good deals on everything from online resources to energy to stationery and fire safety: 
• Stewardship - Stewardship is a charity which promotes generous and tax-free giving.  They produce some good free resources on different aspects of financial stewardship and discipleship.
• Generosity Week - Resources from the Church of England to help you host a Generosity Week campaign

Key Contacts