Dave Kendall explains why God’s work is not limited by budgets.

FOR many years – sometimes even decades – the Church of Scotland has been warned at the annual General Assembly about the consequences of declining membership, difficulties in filling vacant ministry posts, and, more recently, decreasing income that has forced us to dip into shrinking reserves.

As a Church, we have procrastinated over addressing these and other serious challenges, but we can no longer afford to do so. Since their formation in 2019, the Assembly Trustees have consistently conveyed that, despite numerous actions already taken to address the risks threatening our Church’s future sustainability, significant challenges remain.

The General Assembly committed to reaching a balanced budget by 2027. The financial viability of the Church of Scotland remains a significant risk despite all the measures adopted and savings made since the 2019 Special Commission. The Church finances still present an extremely challenging picture and it is evident that the continuing deficit cannot be tackled by looking at national expenditure alone.

As part of our governance processes, arrangements are in place to ensure the risks present to us are managed or mitigated as far as possible. It is unlikely to be a surprise that having insufficient numbers of ministers to support the Presbytery Mission plans poses one of the highest risks. For many years we have lived with large numbers of vacancies. The forward mission plans are based on 600 ministers in post with 60 vacancies which is judged achievable if we adopt the new approaches that are being implemented. This has to take account of the age demographic of our ministers and the associated retirement run rate and it is recognised that a more flexible approach to provision of ministry across Scotland will be needed in the long term for a sustainable future.

Close liaison is continuing between the Assembly Trustees, staff in the national offices and the presbyteries to determine how best to resource ministry and mission. It is evident that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.

Ensuring a Safe Church for all through our safeguarding arrangements is extremely important as can be seen from recent safeguarding concerns in other organisations. It is an area that requires continued focus. The Church is reliant upon volunteers to implement and maintain congregations’ safeguarding policies and processes – it is an area where we all have a role in helping manage the risk. The implementation of the data cleanse project to meet our legal obligations has highlighted the ongoing need for the Church to maintain accurate data.

Our operations in Israel have posed a health and safety risk to our staff who work there or travel out there in recent times and is a situation that requires very careful management. We carefully monitor Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice in respect to any travel restrictions. Staffare still operating under special arrangements established following the October 2023 attacks. Our operations in Israel are also impacted financially. Since the escalation in hostilities all establishments operated in Israel have suffered from loss of income. This is becoming acute and significant work is ongoing across the national administration to manage the financial position and protect the Church.

Whilst this is just a snapshot, no one should underestimate the challenges facing the Church at this time. Rigorous accountability has become a key element to reduce spending, delay or stop projects, or re-evaluate ministries, but God’s work is not limited by our budget. The early church in the book of Acts did not have grand budgets or large resources, but they had a strong community, faith in God’s provision, and a heart to serve. In the same way, as we cut costs or make difficult financial decisions, we must remember that the heart of the ministry – spreading the gospel, caring for one another, serving our nation and communities – continues. God’s power is not diminished by financial constraints, and we can trust that He will always provide for His people. ¤

Dave Kendall is chief officer of the Church of Scotland.