Preparing the case statement
Section 3: Financial Conclusions

Having spent time gathering the raw financial data in Sections 2a and 2b of the case statement the next step is to draw some conclusions from it. The questions in Section 3 of the case statement provide a simple framework for doing this but planning groups should feel free to include additional conclusions as they are made.The sample case statement offers an illustration of how the financial conclusions section might look.

Drawing the financial conclusions can be an enlightening and liberating exercise. One church in a significantly deprived community had an overwhelming sense that they could do nothing about their difficult financial situation. A simple reflection on giving patterns led an older lady to exclaim confidently, ' We can do that!' Breaking the task down into weekly amounts and looking at what is actually happening removes so much of the fear and sense that the task is too great.

This understanding is vital to counter what Walter Brueggemann calls 'the myth of scarcity'. Brueggemann notes how the book of Genesis begins with a liturgy of abundance, the rich provision of God for this world but ends with a Pharaoh enslaving his people, including Israel. The people sell their land, home and finally themselves to Pharaoh because of an economic problem, a shortage of food.

For us the myth of scarcity is actualised in the belief that there is nothing more to give or that everyone is giving all that they can. Addressing these myths honestly and fairly and tackling misconceptions is crucial if Giving in Grace is to have any chance of making a lasting difference to the church. Our God is a God of abundance, of promise and provision for his people.