In Depth:  money

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Bank hits record church lending

Bank hits record church lending
Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

Kingdom Bank has announced record lending for 2024, having approved 99 mortgages with a total value of nearly £27million.

The Christian bank uses deposits from churches and individuals to make loans to churches, Christian charities and those in full-time ministry secured on property. Since 2020, it has granted £100 million in loans and aims to boost that number by 150% over the next five years, lending a further £250 million by 2030. Of the mortgages in 2024, 44 were for church buildings, 28 were for houses for church leaders, 20 were personal mortgages for Christian ministers and seven – for churches and charities – were secured on other types of buildings. The largest group applying for loans was independent evangelical churches.

Prioritising the gospel in our wills

Prioritising the gospel in our wills
Graeme Shanks
Graeme Shanks

I have a friend who pastored in the North West coast of the United States for many years called Randall. He recently told me the story of an older man in his congregation who left a sum of money in his will to the church.

It was a sum that would equate to a low six figure amount in today’s economy. My friend was naturally ecstatic and deeply grateful for the man’s gospel heart.

How churches can avoid accidental financial crime

How churches can avoid accidental financial crime
Paul Houghton
Paul Houghton

Misunderstandings and compliance issues have strained the relationship between churches and banks.

Let's delve into the most critical concerns: financial crime exposure and the need for better understanding and communication.

London poverty ‘shocking’ – claim

London poverty ‘shocking’ – claim
Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

A total of 2.6 million adults who live in London (29% of the total) don’t have enough to live on.

This is one of a number of shocking statistics revealed by Christians Against Poverty (CAP) during Challenge Poverty Week. Many of CAP’s clients currently have a deficit budget, meaning their income doesn’t cover their basic essentials. On average they are £273 a month short of what they need to cover basics such as food, energy bills and rent. The situation is set to worsen as winter looms.

Why might a church be de-banked?

Why might a church be de-banked?
Paul Houghton
Paul Houghton

Despite perceptions of persecution discussed in our last article, the real reasons behind churches being de-banked* are more likely to be rooted in regulatory and risk management issues.

Money laundering and terrorism finance will rarely be discussed in church trustee or PCC meetings. However, they now dominate the mandatory account due diligence processes undertaken by UK banks in the 2020s. While being utterly alien to churches, it is these behind-the-scenes processes which are driving a swathe of the banks’ programme of account closures.

Why this fund is vital for CofE evangelicals

Why this fund is vital for CofE evangelicals
John Dunnett
John Dunnett

The Church of England is fundamentally divided over the issue of sex and marriage.

For too long we’ve been trying to put sugar and salt in the same pot. We need to be honest – in the Church of England we have actually got two different visions of the future we wish to build (in reality, I suspect we actually have two gospels – it certainly is the case that the question ‘What does repentance and faith look like?’ will elicit divergent answers).

Christian report reveals extent of poverty in the UK

Christian report reveals extent of poverty in the UK
Iain Taylor
Iain Taylor

A groundbreaking report from a major Christian organisation is claiming that millions of Britons have ‘shockingly low incomes’ which leave them struggling to find enough money for food.

CAP (Christians Against Poverty)’s 2024 Client Report reveals that millions are now at breaking point – without even the basics reckoned as essential, and fearing the arrival of debt collectors at any moment.

Do banks hate churches? Are Christians being mistreated?

Do banks hate churches? Are Christians being mistreated?
Paul Houghton
Paul Houghton

Churches have become increasingly wary of big banks.

I attended several Christian conferences last year, and, at each one, someone raised concerns about de-banking (the closure of a person or organisation’s bank account by a bank that perceives them to pose a risk to the bank).

Wealth and injustice
the ENd word

Wealth and injustice
Lizzy Smallwood
Lizzy Smallwood

Click and Collect; Swipe to Buy Now; Same-day Delivery; BOGOF; 40% OFF sale; Investment Opportunities; Cryptocurrency Know How…

We are daily bombarded by the command to spend our money on ourselves or invest it for our future. I am an absolute mug when it comes to online impulse buys late at night. It’s a relief to my husband that I have no clue or interest in how Bitcoin works.

Avoiding money’s pitfalls
the ENd word

Avoiding money’s pitfalls
Lizzy Smallwood
Lizzy Smallwood

For a time in the endWord, we are receiving some spiritual heart surgery as we look at the letter of James. He uncovers some of our more insidious, respectable sins and cautions us from fatally wandering from the truth (James 5:19-20)

It seems that we are always facing a choice as we wander through this life: two pathways – the pathway of Obedience: faith and trust which leads to wisdom, or the pathway of Pride: a wilful double-mindedness that leads to folly and destruction.

‘Cakegate’, C-list celebs and cheeky Christians

‘Cakegate’, C-list celebs and cheeky Christians
Stephen Kneale
Stephen Kneale

Just over a week ago (at the time of writing), my friend uploaded a screen grab of her less than impressed response to a request from what those of us in Oldham would refer to as a ‘cheeky beggar’.

What followed was over a week-long saga in which my friend’s response, dripping with sarcasm as it was, found its way into the national news. Every day, I saw a new outlet had picked up the story. It hit all the major national newspapers and media groups, making it a matter of true import when it finally hit the big stage in the Oldham Times. The saga – which as I write is still ongoing – was even dubbed #cakegate and, if I’m being honest, I am partly only mentioning it in these pages so Evangelicals Now doesn’t miss out on the bandwagon.

How rich are you?
the ENd word

How rich are you?
Lizzy Smallwood
Lizzy Smallwood

For a time in the endWord, we are receiving some spiritual heart surgery as we look at the letter of James. He uncovers some of our more insidious, respectable sins and cautions us from fatally wandering from the truth (James 5:19-20).

When it comes to the big ones – ‘sex and drugs and rock ’n roll’ – we Christians often feel pretty good about ourselves compared to the world, and we may assume God feels the same way about us too.

Why is hate-filled abuse ‘within community standards’?

Why is hate-filled abuse ‘within community standards’?
David Robertson
David Robertson

‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ (Who guards the guardians?) is the question the Roman poet Juvenal asked, at just about the same time as the New Testament church was rapidly expanding.

It’s not often that Latin phrases come to mind (mainly because I know so few), but this one seems entirely appropriate for the increasing tendency we are seeing in our major internet platform providers to decide that they, and they alone, are the arbiters of truth.

Rich Christians should repent

Rich Christians should repent
John Benton

Why is the Dead Sea dead? It is because, although the Jordan river flows in, there is no outflow.

The water runs into this great lake, but there it stays until it simply evaporates under the heat of the middle-eastern sun. The Dead Sea is left with high concentrations of salt in which nothing can live. Its salinity is something like 34%. Instead of being a place of life it is sterile.

Will you put your money where your mouth is?

Will you put your money where your mouth is?
Stephen Kneale
Stephen Kneale

Talk, they say, is cheap. But it’s not really, is it?

My Dad recently reminded me of a very expensive phone call I apparently placed to America (I have no memory of doing so). I don’t know who I was ringing, but Dad grabbed the receiver to hear the person at the other end of the line tell him he has ‘a very polite little boy’.

‘Money, money, money...

‘Money, money, money...
Adrian Reynolds
Adrian Reynolds

Adrian Reynolds discusses God’s sovereignty and provision and the importance of being generous amid the coronavirus crisis

... must be funny, in a rich man’s world.’ ABBA, 1976.

Love of money at the BBC
editorial

Love of money at the BBC
John Benton

The nationally funded broadcaster fought ‘tooth and nail’ to keep the secret.

But in July the salaries of some of the BBC’s most famous presenters were finally published. The top earner was the Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, who pockets £2.2 million per annum, then came Match of the Day frontman Gary Lineker with £1.7 million. Among journalists and interviewers, Jeremy Vine’s annual ‘haul’ is £700,000, while the most highly paid woman Strictly Come was Dancing’s Claudia Winkelman with around £450,000.

Money on your mind

Money on your mind
Marcus Watkins

Book Review HELP! I’m confused about credit and debt

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Money found for costs

Money found for costs
Christian Concern

All the funds have now been raised to pay off Aisling Hubert's huge legal costs, following her bid for ‘gender-abortion’ justice. In 2014 she launched a private prosecution against doctors offering women abortion on the grounds of the baby being ‘the wrong sex’.

In a video, Aisling thanked supporters for their vital part in this fight for life. She explained that her case was ‘motivated by Jesus’, and encouraged people with this reminder: ‘God doesn't measure success the same way that we measure success. He measures it by our faithfulness in taking a stand.’

Letter

A Christian’s money
Alison Carter
Date posted: 1 Feb 2016

Dear Editor,

I would like to comment on the feature ‘Spend it, save it, give it’ by Graham Beynon in January en.

Top tips for managing money as a student
Dave Petch

The government’s controversial raising of student tuition fees will put increased on the finances for students. Here is some solid advice.

Your money in God’s hands
Dave Petch

Book Review FAMILY MONEY MATTERS How to run your family finances to God’s glory

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Wall Street: Money never sleeps
Peter Marsay

None Review Hollywood and the cash crisis WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

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Money where your mouth is?
Tim Horn

Book Review FORGOTTEN AGENDA? Money, Work and Discipleship

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Letter from America

'Money is the answer to everything'
Josh Moody
Josh Moody

I wonder how many EN readers will recognise that as a quote from the Bible? Ecclesiastes 10.19 'Money is the answer to everything'. While there may be much that British evangelicals would wish to feel that they have to teach their American cousins about, for instance, the integration of the mind and faith or maintaining the purity of the church, in this matter, American evangelicals seem to be far more comfortable with the plain reality of life which the Bible here acknowledges.

If you want something done, it's going to cost money. If you want to hire someone to do a good job it will cost money. American evangelicals on the whole tend to have much more of the attitude that 'you get what you pay for'. They want a healthy, growing church; and they know that one component of that is a godly, Bible teaching pastor, and so they intend to find money to pay for one.

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