Giving Update

Our projected expenditure for 2026 is £386,643, compared with projected income of £346,881, leaving a current gap of £39,762.

This reflects the cost of sustaining our existing ministry, staffing and buildings, alongside continuing to invest in mission and growth.

You can make a one-off special offering towards the current funding gap.

You can also consider whether increasing or starting regular giving could be part of your ongoing discipleship. You can make a special offering online or by scanning the QR code in the Giving Update brochure.

And, most importantly, please pray for our church, our finances and our leadership as we seek God's wisdom and provision.

This could be an opportunity to consider both making a special offering and whether regular giving could become part of your discipleship.

Growing our regular giving is an important part of making our church financially sustainable for the long term.

Firstly, thank you. Regular giving is what makes the ongoing ministry of Preston Minster possible, and we don't take your generosity for granted.

We're inviting everyone to prayerfully consider whether they are able to make a special offering in addition to their regular giving. There is no expectation that everyone will be able to do so.

We believe God is a generous God and that everything we have, individually and collectively, ultimately belongs to him.

Giving is one way we respond to God's love, grace and salvation in our lives. How we use our money is closely connected to what we believe and what we value.

When we give, we are investing in the mission God has entrusted to us: seeing people encounter Jesus and lives transformed across Preston.

There are several factors.

Like many organisations, we are facing rising costs, particularly for utilities and other operating expenses. We are also now maintaining more buildings than we have previously.

At the same time, our income has reduced in recent years. People move on, circumstances change and individual giving naturally fluctuates.

The result is that our costs have continued to rise while our income has not kept pace with our expenditure.

We have been operating with a funding shortfall for several years. Our financial position is shared each year at our APCM, our annual charitable accounts are publicly available, and regular updates are given to the PCC.

We have been able to sustain our ministry by drawing on savings and reserves, but these are not an unlimited resource. We now need to take action to ensure our finances are sustainable for the future.

We also recognise that we could have communicated more regularly and openly about our finances throughout the year. Going forward, we want financial updates to become a more normal part of church life, alongside teaching about money and giving and sharing more stories of the impact of your generosity.

Not necessarily. £39,762 is our current best projection based on the information we had at the end of September, including known costs, pledged giving, expected asset sales and secured grant funding.

This is a live picture, and the figures will continue to change as the year progresses. The final shortfall could be higher or lower, but £39,762 is the target we are currently working towards.

Our leadership and PCC have been actively working to reduce expenditure and strengthen income over the past few years. This includes:

• Securing grant funding for new staff roles

• Reducing ministry budgets

• Reviewing major utility contracts

• Discerning the future of Spear

• Progressing the sale of Acregate Mission Hall

• Developing a multi-year financial plan

The financial picture is changing as these decisions are made, so the figure we are sharing is a snapshot based on what we currently know.

Please pray for our leadership and PCC as we navigate the coming weeks and months. We will continue to keep the church updated as significant decisions are made.

We are reducing costs and reviewing expenditure. However, much of what we spend directly enables the ministry we are here to do, including staffing, operations, buildings, Spear and Parish Share.

The challenge is to exercise careful stewardship without reducing so much that we undermine the mission we are seeking to sustain.

We do. Grant funding is already an important part of our income, with just over £86,000 projected in 2026. We have also successfully secured grants towards new staff roles.

However, grants are often restricted to particular projects, activities or roles. They cannot replace a healthy and sustainable foundation of regular giving from our church community.

We do hold investments and reserves, and these are being drawn on where appropriate.

However, a significant proportion of our investments is being held towards the future building project at St Matthew’s. Our reserves policy also requires the PCC to aim to hold at least three months of running costs as a financial safety net.

The challenge is to steward these resources responsibly for the future while also funding the ongoing ministry and mission of the church.

Investing in St Matthew’s was a significant step of faith and part of our wider vision to reach more people across Preston.

We are already seeing encouraging signs of growth there through initiatives including Street Teams and Alpha. We recognise that expanding our mission has financial implications, and those implications are part of the wider financial picture we are now addressing.

As of the end of September 2026, Spear costs around £77,000 a year. The pie chart in the brochure brings all Spear costs together, including the salaries of our trained and skilled coaches.

For the past five years, Spear has been a significant part of church life. It is one of the ways we seek to give generously to our city. We’re also really encouraged that we now have generous funding secured for the next 12 months, which means we can continue this investment in the lives of young people.

Please pray for wisdom and clarity as we consider the long-term sustainability of this important ministry.

We believe so.

We have a mixture of full and part-time staff, alongside many dedicated volunteers. As a growing church, there are increasingly complex areas to manage, including safeguarding, health and safety, pastoral care, finance, HR and project management.

These areas require specialist skills and expertise. Our staff enable us to operate well, support our volunteers and create the capacity for ministry and mission to grow.

We are committed to using both staff and volunteers wisely, making sure our resources are stewarded well and focused on the mission God has given us.

Parish Share is the contribution each parish makes towards the cost of clergy, including stipends and housing. It also helps support parishes facing greater financial challenges, enabling mission to continue across the wider Church.

Our projected expenditure includes £56,046 for Parish Share. We believe in playing our part and supporting the wider Church across Lancashire.

No. The immediate target addresses a real financial need, but the bigger conversation is about how we sustainably resource our mission.

We want to see more people come to faith, more baptisms, stronger children's and youth ministry, and our church grow beyond 400 people.

We're not setting an amount for individuals or households. We'd encourage everyone to pray, consider their circumstances and decide what generosity and playing their part looks like for them.

No one should give beyond what they can responsibly afford.

There are some areas of ministry, such as Spear and Minster Youth, that have restricted funds. This means that grants or specific large donations can sometimes be ringfenced for that particular ministry.

However, we generally don't encourage people to restrict their regular giving. Unrestricted giving allows us to respond to the needs of the whole church and prevents one area from being overfunded while another is underfunded.

A rising tide raises all ships. Giving to the general ministry of the church helps us resource the whole mission.

That would be brilliant!

Any additional money raised will support the general running costs and ministry of the whole church and help put us on a stronger financial footing as we move into 2027.

We will need to make further decisions about expenditure, reserves and ministry priorities as we move into 2027.

We want to trust God for his provision while also taking seriously our responsibility to steward our finances well. If our regular income does not grow, further changes to expenditure may need to be considered.

We'll keep the church updated on our progress towards the £39,762 target rather than simply making the ask and then going quiet.

Look out for updates through our weekly emails and WhatsApp. You're also always welcome to speak to a member of the PCC or leadership team if you have questions.

Our finances are discussed openly at our APCM each April, and our annual charitable accounts are publicly available.

If you feel you have a particular interest or gift in this area, you could also consider joining the PCC or supporting the finance team.

And if you have questions, ask. You can speak to a member of the PCC or leadership team at any time.

Our financial year is January - December so this financial update is specifically for January - December 2026.