A Gift for Life - The BRF Legacy Appeal |
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'If you plan for a decade plant trees: if you plan for a century nurture children.'
A lasting gift that changes livesFor many charities, income from legacies is crucial and represents a significant aspect of their funding each year. Legacies enable charities to plan ahead, and often provide the funding to develop new projects. Legacies make a significant difference to the ability of charities to achieve their purpose. In just this way, a legacy to support our Barnabas children's ministry would make a huge difference. Five years ago we unexpectedly received one legacy gift that covered over half the running costs for the team for a whole year! This provided the vital funding that we needed to develop Barnabas in those early years. A large number of the current readers of our Bible reading notes and supporters of our work were themselves introduced to the Bible and the Christian faith as children. Today, in both primary schools and churches, our Barnabas team are carrying on that same ministry of bringing the Bible alive for children under 11 and enabling them, and the adults that work with them, to explore Christianity creatively.
Our Barnabas in Churches Ministry:
Children's leaders need to be valued, resourced and supported, not just in the role they fill but also as individuals themselves. We're working with all denominations to develop ways to support their children's leaders more effectively, resourcing their own spiritual journey and discipleship, alongside offering training and resources.
'Messy Church' is proving to be an effective approach to reaching children and adults beyond the fringes of the church and engaging with the wider community. We're here to help churches get started - and keep going - with their own Messy Church. We've also got much to offer for midweek groups and holiday clubs.
How can churches build strong, mutually enriching relationships with their local schools? There are many opportunities to get involved. There's much that churches can offer to schools, and much they can learn from schools too. We're helping churches to make the most of these opportunities, with training, ideas and resources to use.
It takes the whole congregation to nurture a child in the Christian faith. Whether it's resourcing faith in the home, midweek or Sunday groups, we're committed to equipping churches to nurture children - not just producing resources to use with children themselves, but also helping their leaders and indeed the whole congregation to understand and appreciate more about children's faith development, valuing them as part of the church and enabling them to play a full role within the life of the church. Whether it's working face to face with children themselves, providing training for adults, developing new material for our specialist websites or expanding our range of published resources, there's a huge amount that the Barnabas children's ministry team is already doing to bring the Bible alive for children under 11 and to enable them, and the adults that work with them, to explore Christianity creatively. We're fortunate to have a team with a wide range of experience and expertise to make available to schools and churches alike. We know from the feedback we receive that their work is highly respected, admired and appreciated. Our greatest challenge remains to secure the funding to be able to consolidate this work and build for the future. Examples of what a legacy gift could enable, all of which are beyond the scope of our current available funding, are:
Our Barnabas in Schools Ministry:
Our Barnabas schools team works with schools throughout the country, providing Barnabas RE Days. Now in their tenth year, these popular creative arts days explore the themes of value, worth, identity, stewardship, responsibility and relationships, drawing on stories from the Bible and relating them to the wider life of the school. We also offer Barnabas RE Days focusing on the major Christian festivals of Christmas, Easter and Harvest. Each Barnabas RE Day includes an assembly and explores Christianity through storytelling, drama, dance or music.
We also offer training sessions to encourage and equip teachers to teach Christianity within an RE syllabus for Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. These INSET sessions include ideas for collective worship, approaching the Bible creatively in RE lessons, and communicating and understanding the Christian story through drama, music, storytelling and art.
Alongside our face-to-face work with RE Days and INSET, we also produce a wide range of books and resources for use in primary schools, and our specialist website (www.barnabasinschools.org.uk) offers a wealth of information, ideas to download and use, articles, reports and useful links.
A Gift in your WillA gift to BRF in your will can give lasting support to our work. All of our ministry work has to be planned on a long-term basis and your legacy will help to make this possible.
If you already have a will it makes very good sense to review it periodically to check that it still reflects your wishes. This could be an opportunity to add a charitable gift. Your solicitor can advise you on making such changes to your will.
If you don't yet have a will, it is very advisable to have one drawn up with the advice of a solicitor. Having a legally valid will is the only way to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled exactly. It can also save a lot of heartache for the people you leave behind. Intestacy - failing to leave a will - affects thousands of people every year, yet is so easily avoided. The kinds of legacy gift (bequest) you can make: A specific bequest A pecuniary bequest A residuary bequest
For over 85 years BRF has been helping people of all ages to experience the living God and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ though the Bible, prayer and worship - in other words, 'resourcing their spiritual journey'. BRF began its ministry in a small congregation in London and now reaches out to individuals, families and whole communities in every part of the country. Today, fewer and fewer children are growing up with any real knowledge or understanding of the Bible or the Christian faith and, indeed, most have very little exposure to it. Through our Barnabas children's ministry in schools and churches, we are trying to do something about this. We can make a difference. Would you consider a legacy gift to support this vital ministry? Your gift would be a lasting way to support our work, and would help us introduce successive generations of children to the Bible and the Christian faith. Thank you very much for your support.
Frequently Asked QuestionsYou will no doubt have many questions to ask about will-making and leaving a gift to a charity. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions: Does it cost a lot to make a will? No. A typical will costs around £150–£250 from a general family solicitor's practice. Do I have to do much preparation before going to see my solicitor? Your solicitor will probably give or send you a two- or three-page questionnaire to fill in-the answers help your solicitor draw up your will in the most efficient way. And, as with everything, preparation beforehand always helps. What if I am not sure how the future will turn out? Should I delay until the picture is clear? No. There's no need to wait as your will can always be changed in the light of new circumstances. And it is always advisable to have a current, valid will. Can I share some money between several charities? Yes, in fact many people do this by leaving a residuary bequest which shares out the residue of their estate - what is left of their estate after all specific or pecuniary gifts have been Made - among two or three favourite charities.
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A Message from Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester and Chairman of the BRF Council.