Financial Help for Churches

Some financial assistance is available to churches in membership with the London Baptist Association, either from LBA Trust Funds, from the London Baptist Property Board Ltd or through Baptist Union Mission Grants.

Financial help with property costs – LBA trust funds

The trust funds of the Association can offer modest grants and interest free loans to churches in the maintenance, redevelopment and purchase of church property. Since the resources of the Association are limited, these resources will normally be directed to those churches that are not able to afford interest-bearing loans.

The John Bradford Trust, the Church Extension and Reconstruction Fund, and the Roberts Memorial Fund are all able to make money available to churches for work on their property. Interest free loans are normally repayable by equal annual instalments over a ten year period. ‘Grants’ are sometimes made in the form of ‘permanent loans’ which are repayable only on the closure of the church or in the event of the church leaving the Association.

The T W Philpot Trust is the largest of our trust funds and is able to make interest free loans for new church building, the purchase of new buildings by churches and the extension of church premises. These loans would not normally be more than £100,000 and cannot exceed 25% of the cost of the project.

The Manse Trust Fund is able to lend money to churches to help towards the purchase of a manse. Loans are repayable with capital appreciation relating to house values at the time of repayment. Churches that receive loans from the Manse Trust Fund are encouraged to repay the loan when they are able so that money can be used to support other churches. (Currently all of the available funds in the Manse Trust Fund are out on loan to churches and no applications can be considered at the present time).

If churches have taken out an interest-bearing loan with the London Baptist Property Board and find themselves unable to meet the interest payments, grants can be made available from the Interest Assistance Fund to meet the cost of interest charges.

For more information and an application form please contact Paul Martin.

Financial help with property costs – LBPB loans

The London Baptist Property Board Ltd (LBPB) is a subsidiary company of the London Baptist Association, which acts as the holding trustee of many of London’s Baptist churches. The LBPB runs a deposit and loan fund for churches.

Churches are able to deposit money with the LBPB. Deposit accounts pay interest at
competitive rates. Money can be paid in and drawn out at the request of churches.

Out of the money deposited by churches, loans can be made available for the purchase, repair or improvement of church property (including manses). Loans will not normally exceed 70% of the cost of the project and no church is able to borrow more than £300,000 from the LBPB at any time. Loans are normally repayable over ten years, with the capital repayable either quarterly, half-yearly or annually in equal instalments and the interest repayable quarterly. The interest rate is variable.

For more information and an application form please contact Jackie Penistone.

Financial assistance for mission and ministry – LBA trust funds

Modest grants are available from some of the LBA trust funds to assist with the costs of ministry and mission.

Two of our trust funds can make small grants for lay training. The J W Beaumont Trust Fund was established to assist with the costs of Christian training for members of LBA churches. The London Baptist Preachers Fund is able to offer bursaries to lay preachers who undertake training.

Two trust funds have been established to support the costs of ministry. The Hounslow Baptist Church Reserve Fund is able to make loans and grants for the support of ministry (“in its widest sense”) in Greater London. The income from the Walworth Trust can be used to support “experimental ministry in inner London”.

Finally, the Valley Mission Fund is able to make grants towards the costs of evangelistic work by churches in West Kent.

For more information and an application form please contact Paul Martin.

Financial assistance for ministry and mission – BUGB Mission Grants

The LBA administers applications for BUGB Mission Grants (formerly known as Home Mission grants) from the Baptist Union. Four types of grant are available. The over-riding criterion in assessing all grant requests is whether the grant will enable effective mission to take place. There are four main categories of grant that are open to churches.

Church-based ministry: Most grants are for church-based ministry. These grants can only be paid to churches with BUGB accredited Ministers paying their Minister the Home Mission standard stipend (or appropriate proportion thereof). They are also available for ministers-in-training and recognised ministers from other denominations in LEPs. Grants will not normally exceed 50% of stipend.

Special Ministries: Some grants can be given towards the cost of a Special Ministry. This covers all ministries not included in other grant categories. Special Ministry grants are not limited to contributions to stipend or to a maximum of a 50% grant. Three Special Ministry grants have been supported in London in recent years – one for a family worker at New Addington Baptist Church, the second to support the Alperton Asian Ministry linked to Alperton Baptist Church, and the third for a student worker based at King's Cross Baptist Church.

Mission through Congregation grants: This is a new category of grant designed to enable a church or congregation to meet ongoing costs associated with their mission (but not towards stipend or salary costs).

Mission Project grants: These grants are given to enable churches to respond to the
mission needs of their community as part of their ongoing work and ministry. They are oneoff grants for new projects of new initiatives within existing projects. Priority is given to innovative and creative evangelistic initiatives and initiatives which are intended to help alleviate poverty or the effects of poverty. Any one Mission project grant will be no more than £3,000.

Churches considering applying for a grant for church-based ministry, a special ministries grant or a mission through congregation grant should speak in the first instance either to Pat Took or to Paul Martin.

Churches wishing to apply for a Mission Project grant should contact David Shosanya.