Giving Sunday 2026
Next year will mark a significant milestone for our church, as we celebrate 100 years of worship and witness to Selsdon. This will be a moment for us to give thanks for God’s goodness to us, celebrate his faithfulness and generosity and remember with gratitude the service and generosity of those who have invested their gifts, resources and time to help grow our church.
As well as remembering, our centenary will also be a time to look forward, to think about what we can do to ensure that SBC is set up for the next 100 years, with premises and resources that will enable us to share the love of God with our friends and neighbours in Selsdon.
In recent years, we’ve faced challenges. Our income last year looked unlikely to cover our expenditure, but what could have been a story of setbacks and scaling back our ministry became one of God’s blessing and generosity. When we came together for our giving day in 2025, many responded to the need and increased their regular giving. As a result, at the end of the 2025/26 financial year our balance has increased by £35,000 from a projected deficit to a £20,000 surplus. We are grateful to all of you for your financial support, and to God for His provision.
As we look to the future we face the usual inflationary increase in regular expenses, but we also have a backlog of projects within the church that we are hoping to complete. Our vision is to see the church as a space where people feel welcome and comfortable. Our goal is not a "that will do" approach, but rather one that says, "you are welcome here".
Through improvements like the addition of the lift and the refurbishment of the toilets we have made steps towards this, but there is still further work to be done on the coffee lounge, foyer, and making our downstairs kitchen an area that can be used every day of the week. Additionally, on special occasions when the church is full, our toilets at the rear of the church cannot cope and it would be good to renovate them so that we can make people feel comfortable when those facilities are needed. We also own three manses and whilst one is currently generating income for the church, the other two are homes to members of our ministry team and it's our responsibility to ensure that they are comfortable, safe and reasonably maintained.
In recent months, it has been exciting to welcome many new faces to our church. Our hope is that we will continue to grow, encountering new people and helping them to move forward on their journey of faith. This can only happen through your support of the church, through your prayers, your time and your financial giving, for which we are immensely grateful.
Our 2026 giving day will be on 26 April 2026. Please pray and consider how you might be able to support our church as we look forwards to the next 100 years of Selsdon Baptist Church.