GIVING
At St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, we don’t ask visitors to give or take up an offering in the service.
Christians believe that everything we have is a gift from God, and is to be used for His glory. For Christians, giving is a privilege we enjoy and it provides an opportunity for us to partner in the spreading of the gospel and to support those in need.
WHY GIVE?
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'For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich'
2 Corinthians 8:9
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God is generous and calls us to be like Him
If you are a visitor, please be our guest. We don't take up an offering during the service. However, Christians believe that everything we have is a gift from God, and we have been entrusted by God to be faithful stewards of all we have (Matt 25:14-30).
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For Christians, giving is a privilege we enjoy because it provides us an opportunity to partner in the work of the local church in the spreading of the gospel, in the nurturing of our faith, in the ministry to every generation, in the sending of missionaries, and in the support of those in need.
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God has generously given us life, health and every good thing in creation, and above all eternal life through Jesus Christ. So our generous and sacrificial giving is a response to God's generosity to us.
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All the ministries at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church are dependent upon the giving of our regulars. We count it a privilege that 12% of our giving is also used to support many local and global mission partners and organisations.
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2 Corinthians 9:7 tells us that: 'Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.' If you are a regular of our church, we encourage you: Give prayerfully, generously, sacrificially and cheerfully.
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HOW TO GIVE
DIRECT DEPOSIT
You can give electronically via online banking. The details for our bank account are:
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Account name: St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church
BSB: 033 039
Account Number: 307 254
GIVE TO OUR BUILDING FUND
You can arrange your giving via these two options:
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1. Direct Bank Deposit to Building Fund Bank Account:
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Account name: SHP Building Fund
BSB: 033 149
Account number: 488 439
Subject description: Building
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2. Online Credit Card Giving
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Make a one-off or recurring gift now to support the purchase of the property
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Credit card giving attracts a fee which will reduce the amount that goes into the church account. You may choose to cover the fee.
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GIVING ON SUNDAYS
If you would like to give but are unable to do so electronically, you may like to make use of the offering box at the entrance of the church. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us here.
GIVING TOWARDS OUR VISION
MISSION & VISION
The recent purchase of 5 Warrigal Road is considered as a resource to enable our mission of making and maturing disciples of Jesus together (Matthew 28:19, Matthew 22:36-40) and our vision to be a great multitude of disciples (Revelation 7:9). As we prayerfully seek to multiply in congregation size, we anticipate the need for extra space in both the immediate term (for Kid's church, Yoshi and other meetings) as well as longer- term (larger spaces to congregate, fellowship and expand ministries). Our hope is to be a church that serves generations of Christians and we want to take hold of every means so generations to come are captured by the love of Jesus and the transforming Word of God.
HOW TO GIVE TOWARDS OUR VISION
The first step is to pray.
Some points you may like to pray about:
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Thank God for how he has provided for St Stephen's over many generations and connecting many to the gospel over the years.
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Pray for wisdom as we seek to faithfully steward what God has entrusted to us and commit the property purchase into His hands.
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Pray that our church will be a generous people in response to the gospel, and that we will give cheerfully and sacrificially
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Pray that the necessary funds will be raised, for His kingdom and His glory.
The bible emphasises equal sacrifice, not equal gifts (Mark 12:41-44). Rather than how much we give, God is concerned with having a heart that is joyful and sacrificial. We are called to give in line with what He has blessed us with. This will mean different options for each of us. Some options include:
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A one-off gift
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A regular weekly or monthly gift
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A combination of a one-off gift and a regular gift.
GIVE TO OUR BUILDING FUND
You can give electronically via online banking. The details for our building fund bank account are:
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Account name: SHP Building Fund
BSB: 033 149
Account number: 488 439
Subject description: Building
It is important that with any giving to "Towards Our Vision", we see it as incremental to our regular giving at church. This is to ensure that our ongoing mission of making and maturing disciples is not disrupted and our existing commitments are covered.
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We know that not everyone will be in a position to give or feel comfortable in doing so. If this is you, we invite you to pray with us.