St John's Hoxton A Beacon Of Hope For Hoxton

How To Give

P-D-A

In the 90s this stood for a Personal Data Assistant, but for me it stand for Pray, Decide, Act. We all have to make decisions about how we use our money - and when it comes to giving to the mission of the church, it’s vital that we pray about what God wants us to give; decide that we will respond obediently; and then act - by actually filling out the standing order form or writing a cheque! I often believe that the hardest thing about going to the gym is getting my short and trainers on - after that it’s easy. It’s the same with giving to the church - putting pen to paper on the standing order form is the hardest bit.

Sunday Collections

We always take up an offering during our Sunday service - and this allows people to express their thankfulness to God by giving cash or cheques in that moment. However, many people are frustrated when they realise they don’t have cash in their wallet, or that they need to keep it for lunch later that day. Sometimes people miss out on the opportunity to give because they’ve had to miss church for some reason - illness, shift work, or visiting friends / family. That’s why we recommend giving by Standing Order

Standing Order

A Standing Order is a simple instruction to your bank to pay a regular sum of money to the church. We have the forms at church all ready to be completed - we’ll even post it for you! (If you prefer to setup a standing order via online banking, the form has all the information you’ll need. The great thing about standing orders is that you don’t have to remember your cash or cheque book on a Sunday - and you’ll be able to participate in God’s mission and ministry in the church even when you’re not there!! (It’s also much easier for the church to prepare its annual budget when we give by standing order…)

Tax-Efficient Giving

HMRC still maintain the Gift Aid scheme, through which the tax paid on the amount of your donation can be reclaimed by the church. This can swell the value of your gift by over 25%! It’s vital that you complete a Gift Aid Declaration - ideally on one of our church forms, but also by filling out a yellow envelope to accompany your gift. It’s important that you only do this if you are a UK taxpayer. (Higher rate taxpayers may be able to gain further reliefs - but your accountant should be able to advise you on that…)