The Revd Jonathan Philpott, has swapped parish ministry in Berrow and Brean for a role with the diocesan Giving and Funding team, supporting both Taunton and Wells archdeaconries.
What made you apply for this role?
After 17 years in parish ministry, I had been looking for a change and wanted a role that used the skills I had recently learnt through the Church of England’s Strategic Leadership Development Programme, such as project management skills and using your voice in the public square, when this opportunity came up.
What do you bring to the role?
One of the biggest gifts I think I bring to the team is that because I’ve got my own lived experience of being an incumbent, facing the challenges that parishes are facing, I can ask questions from a parish perspective when we are planning what giving and funding support we can offer. I know how things might be received by someone working in the parish so I hope I can help make sure that we produce things that can make a difference to people on the ground.
What are your priorities?
I have two, which were the same as when I was in parish ministry. They are for the church to be at the heart of the local community and for the church to be resourced so that it can carry out the mission God has called it to, uniquely where it is placed. I think as giving and funding adviser, I can help with some of that. How can we resource you better to be what you are called to be, to do what you are called to do?
What excites you about the role?
I’ve found meeting people I would never have come across really exciting, but recognising that giving and generosity is not high on the list of priorities for some people, I am excited about looking at how the whole nature of how we resource church can be moved up the agenda and be seen as an integral part of enabling the church to fulfil its calling.
What have you found is the biggest challenge to growing a generous culture?
The moment you start talking about money people switch off – I think that I would switch off too! But if we talk about generosity in terms of how we are modelling who God is, that it is an integral part of God's nature, seeing that as a way of enabling the church to be alive and doing what it's meant to be, then I think that changes the emphasis of the conversation. And I think it’s better that way.
Growing a generous culture in church isn't just about money and boosting income. It’s about recognising that God is a generous God and seeing our generosity of money, time hospitality and gifts and so on as a witness to God's generosity and as part of our faith in action.
The challenge is two-fold. Firstly, I think there are so many more organisations now competing for our giving. Secondly, I think because of that - at least in part – there has been a shift in last couple of decades from seeing giving to the church just something we do as disciples, to wanting to see the impact of our giving. We want to know that our giving is making a difference.
So one of the challenges for the church is how do we demonstrate what that impact looks like so that we can show them are making a difference – and as church we are not always very good at that. If we can see sharing our impact as part of telling our story then I think it will be a real boost for the church and people will be more likely to give. That’s not to say that we stop talking about giving as discipleship, but it is about recognising the importance of both.
Any advice for those who find talking generosity difficult?
A good starting point is some honest self-reflection that many incumbents just don’t like talking about money. But while that is a good place to begin, it's not a good place to stay. There are so many good resources available to help, including the Generosity Week resources, and tools like ‘Ways to Give’ that provide a simple framework for people to give, as well as the training that will be on offer soon from the Giving and Funding Team. Accountability is so important to people, and we can learn a lot from the charity sector about how to do this better. The more we can normalise talking about money and the way in which it resources what we long to do in churches, the easier it gets.
FInd out more about the support available from the Giving and Funding team.