1. LBA – London Baptist Association London Baptist Association BUGB Mission Grants Training Presentation www.londonbaptist.org.uk/bugbmissiongrants www.baptist.org.uk/bugbmissiongrants

2. LBA – London Baptist Association BUGB Mission Grants BUGB Mission grants are for exactly “what it says on the tin” –They are grants given by the Baptist Union of Great Britain to support mission. They are given to support mission which not be possible without a grant.

3. LBA – London Baptist Association BUGB Mission Grants BUGB Mission Grants are available from the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) to assist churches to fulfil their mission; Applications from churches are channelled through the regional association to BUGB; The London Baptist Association (LBA) is the regional association for London churches.

4. LBA – London Baptist Association Eligibility for BUGB Mission Grants (1) To be eligible: A London church must be in membership with BUGB and the LBA; The grant is usually for support of an accredited Minister (or a minister-in-training or a recognised Minister of another denomination in an ecumenical church) unless the application is for a special ministry which has different arrangements or is for mission through a congregation; The Minister must be appointed on the nationally recommended BUGB terms; The Minister must be paid the BUGB recommended Home Mission Stipend.

5. LBA – London Baptist Association Eligibility for BUGB Mission Grants (2) To be eligible the church must: explain its mission vision and plans. be paying the Minister all legitimate expenses (but not extra for heating and lighting); be supporting HM at level recommended by regional association; not be giving “other causes” more than 50% of its Home Mission & BMS World Mission giving; demonstrate it needs the grant to be financially viable; demonstrate commitment to wider Baptist family.

6. LBA – London Baptist Association Applying for a BUGB Mission Grant An application form must be completed each year by the church; The church must submit supporting evidence (e.g. accounts and budgets); The LBA will arrange for 2 Visitors who will visit and write a report; An LBA grants group will consider the church’s application with the Visitors’ report and make a recommendation to BUGB; BUGB grants manager will assess the application, negotiate as appropriate and make a recommendation to the BUGB national grants group.

7. LBA – London Baptist Association Timetable for 2010 Grant Applications Applications in by 27 Feb 2009 Visitors reports in by 8 May 2009 LBA grants group to consider on 16 June or 15 Sept 2009 BUGB grants group to consider on 9 July or 30 Sept 2009 Decisions go back to churches following BUGB grants group meeting (July or Sept 2009) Note: The application form to use depends on your situation but for most churches it will be GD1A and GD1B (e.g. accredited Ministers in a normal church situation)

8. LBA – London Baptist Association Applying for BUGB Mission Grants LBA Office posts out application forms at the turn of the year with a letter giving names and contacts details for your visitors; A range of forms and advisory documents can be downloaded from the BUGB website (may need a password which will be provided by the LBA Office); Ask us by email, phone or letter if you want us to post or email you copies of any documents; Also, ask us if you need any help or advice. bugbmissiongrants@londonbaptist.org.uk

9. LBA – London Baptist Association Applying for BUGB Mission Grants To apply for a BUGB Mission Grant, you usually have to fill out a form with the following sections: Part 1 (usually GD1A) Section 1 - General Information & Resolution Section 2 - Ministerial Information Section 3 - Statistics Section 4 - Church Life and Mission Section 5 - Sunday Services and Other Activities Section 6 - Contact Details Part 2 (usually GD1B) Section 7 - General Financial Information Section 8 - “General Fund” Receipts and Payments Note: Guidance notes (GD4) & model documents are available by download or from the LBA Office.

10. LBA – London Baptist Association Section 1: General Information & Resolution We like to see the grant requested reducing by (at least) 5% each year; The request for a grant should be discussed at a Church Meeting so the church understands its responsibilities; The Church Meeting needs to pass a prescribed Resolution asking for the grant and committing itself to play its part.

11. LBA – London Baptist Association Church Meeting Resolution Recognising the privilege of having a Minister, and that our first responsibility as Church Members is to support the ministry, we apply for a grant to help us pay our minister the Home Mission Stipend. We therefore resolve: (a)To request a grant of £.... as a contribution towards the stipend for 2010, (b)To pay all legitimate expenses (including travel, telephone, postage, etc) incurred in the carrying out of the ministry.....

12. LBA – London Baptist Association Section 2: Ministerial Information In this section you give the name of your Minister; the basis of appointment (full-time, part- time etc); The manse arrangements.

13. LBA – London Baptist Association Section 3: Statistics In this section you give basic statistical information over several years: The number of members; The number of baptisms; The number of young people; The number of regular attenders; The grant received, agreed and requested.

14. LBA – London Baptist Association Section 4: Church Life and Mission This is a vital section about your church life and your plans/priorities – yet sometimes people leave it virtually blank; Describe what you have been doing in 2008; Outline your plans and hopes for 2009 and 2010.

15. LBA – London Baptist Association Section 5: Sunday Services & Other Activities Let us know what you are up to! Sunday services; Mid-week activities; Monthly clubs; Other regular activities and events; etc

16. LBA – London Baptist Association Section 6: Contact details We may have to follow-up your application with queries; It helps us to have a day-time contact; We know not everyone has email but we find that exchanging information by email helps aid clarity; Equally, a quick chat on the phone can sometimes clear-up misunderstandings very quickly.

17. LBA – London Baptist Association Part 2: Financial Information Treasurers have a key role in filling out Part 2 of the standard application form (GD1B); We need audited or independently examined accounts for 2008; We need budgets for 2009 and forecasts for 2010; Please give explanations for any oddities in the accounts or budgets – it saves us having to come back and ask!

18. LBA – London Baptist Association The Role of the Visitors The Visitors have three specific objectives: To give encouragement to the leadership and membership of the church; To sense and report on the spiritual life and “mission-heart” of the fellowship; To assess and report on the financial situation of the church. Note: There is a guidance note for Visitors (GD7) and a model report form (GD6)

19. LBA – London Baptist Association The Qualifications of the Visitors The Visitors will usually: Have one ordained and one lay member; Have at least one member able to understand and comment on accounts and related financial information; Have experience of different church situations and the ability to apply their knowledge and experience to provide advice both to the church and to the LBA/BU.

20. LBA – London Baptist Association The Visiting Process Ideally the Visitors should: Meet with the leadership (inc. Minister); Meet with representatives of the wider fellowship – perhaps attending a service; Have a separate conversation with the Minister; Take account of the area in which the church is working – perhaps walking around the area if they are not already familiar with it.

21. LBA – London Baptist Association The Visitors’ Report The Visitors’ Report should have the following headings: The Community The Church – (a) The People (b) The Building Mission Ministry Denominational Participation Finance Other Comments Conclusion and Recommendation

22. LBA – London Baptist Association The Visitors’ Report: Circulation The Visitors’ Report will be used by the LBA and BUGB staff and HM grant groups to reach a decision on the grant request. It will not be sent to the church by the LBA or the BU. Note: Some Visitors choose to show their report to the church before finalising it to ensure that it is accurate and fair but that is entirely up to the Visitors. The church has no right to see it.

23. LBA – London Baptist Association Group Work on Example Applications Break into groups of 4-5 people each. Each group will then be provided with two example applications on forms GD1A and GD1B. The example applications are not real ones made anonymous. They have been made up.

24. LBA – London Baptist Association Group Work on Example Applications Read the example applications carefully Discuss the example applications in your group –What do they tell you about the church? –What information is missing? –What questions do they raise in your mind? –What advice might you want to give each church? –How do you react to the application overall? As you do this, consider how others might react to what you put on your application form!) Be prepared to report back and discuss your reactions to each example application.

25. LBA – London Baptist Association

26. Form GD1A: Section 1

27. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1A: Section 2

28. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1A: Section 3

29. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1A: Section 4

30. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1A: Section 5

31. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1A: Section 6

32. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1B: Section 7

33. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1B: Section 8 (a)

34. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1B: Section 8 (b)

35. LBA – London Baptist Association Form GD1B: Section 8 (c)

36. LBA – London Baptist Association Pat Took (Team Leader) Please pray for: Pat Took caring pastorally for Baptist church leaders across London Paul Martin leading LBA administration Kumar Rajagopalan and David Shosanya focusing on Racial Justice and Mission Paul Martin (LBA Secretary) David Shosanya (Mission) LBA Regional Ministry Team Kumar Rajagopalan (Racial Justice)