Parish Case Studies

Giving in Grace was conceived at the outset as a lay led initiative with its primary focus upon the life and ministry of the local church. The resource materials on this web site were designed to be both flexible and adaptable to suit the social context, history and churchmanship of the churches in the diocese of Liverpool. We have been enormously encouraged that churches of all traditions and churches from outside the diocese of Liverpool have commented favourably.

This page provides links to church case studies which reflect a wide range of social settings and churchmanship. We have not showcased the most spectacular financial results but places where leadership and planning groups gave the programme their enthusiastic support and put in the necessary work and commitment. Evaluation of the programme in parishes is continually evolving. From our experience two basic principles stand out in particular:

• The blessings gained are in proportion to the effort that is put into the planning and running of the programme. It has been most encouraging to hear leaders commenting that the planning process has not only shown direct financial benefit but has also encouraged the church in developing its vision.
• The role of the church leadership has proved to be absolutely central to a successful programme. Our experience in the past 10 years and more of stewardship programmes has been underlined strongly by Giving in Grace. Where parishes have reported moderate results it has been almost always linked to a lack of enthusiasm, lack of focus or failure of the church leadership to take and model a strong lead in the area of giving.

In addition to case studies reviewing how the Giving in Grace programme worked locally there are also case studies focusing on particular aspects such as Prayer and Godly Play while three tell the story of the impact of the Church Urban Fund in their communities.