Everything we need!
Relevant subscriptions and Licences can be daunting especially if you are just starting out.
Fortunately we were well rehearsed in this area as part of our previous roles were ensuring that the legalities were in place at our previous church. We were a step ahead in that respect but it is quite frustrating that things really take time. At first glance, nothing is a quick fix.
We had got the Charity Commission application in during the Summer of rest but there is such a backlog of applications that things really do take time. Having a charity number is so important as it does save you money on lots of other subscriptions that you need. We decided to use a Charity Commission template as we presumed that this would save time as surely those viewing the application would see the choices we had saved in the application and know that the remaining areas were part of their own words. It didn’t work; we are still waiting as they are still very much behind their 45 day promise to get back to you.
Day 60 and still nothing so a phone call tells us that they are only now looking at applications that came in on the first few days of August. It is rather frustrating but there are so many charities being set up at this time, many to do with supporting the Ukraine crisis. We just need to be more patient; it will all come in good in the end!
Bank accounts are not a quick fix without a charity number either. Some of the waiting times are ridiculous and there isn’t much support out there to help anybody in this position. Fortunately by chance, we spoke to Lloyds bank who was never really on our radar as a bank that we would use for the Church. I think they just felt sorry for us and so actually listened to our frustrations. In the end we have settled for a Trustee Account and once we have a charity number then this will change to a full Charity Account. People don’t tell you this and it is very hard to find the information online when you don’t even know what it is you are looking for.
There are small club Accounts out there but we had donations sat there that would instantly throw us over the threshold so they were simply a ‘no go’ as soon as we mentioned our finances to the people we spoke to. It was always the same answer which was “Just get back in touch with us when you have a Charity Number”. Great! The Lloyds Trustee Account really does meet our needs and we are thankful that our persistence paid off. It is so easy to give up when you receive setback after setback in these areas.
Thirtyoneeight membership was a must for us. There are other organisations that deal with DBS but we knew that this was the one recommended for Churches. There is a membership fee each year which is quite big when you are just starting out but there is no doubt that this was the membership that was needed!
We emailed them and explained that we were a new Church Plant and really wanted them to be our provider. We knew them, knew their invaluable resources and we knew the system that they used. We were thrilled when they gave us an amazing discount to ensure that we were only paying pennies for the membership. There really are some wonderful organisations out there that help you find your feet!
Churchsuite was another of these organisations. They simply love new Church Plants! It was only by chance, that we saw a small strapline on their website stating that they ‘love new church plants’. We wanted to test just how much they loved them so we fired off an email to them. They were brilliant with us; helpful does not give them enough honour! They advised us to set up the free trial so the first month was free and then subsequently they gave all 9 units of use for the price of 1 unit for a year. There are more discounts to tap into next year too. It is so good and really is an incredible gift of generosity that we have gratefully received.
Most of the other subscriptions that we needed all gave us something; even if it was for just a three month period. This enabled us to really look at the CCLI Licencing. We wanted to get everything that we should have rather than just hope for the best! Most of the Licenses are now set as Premium but futuristically this will help us to do things in the future without worrying if we have everything in place.
We always knew that we would not live stream our services as research has shown us that podcasts have a much better reach. The figures show that for every one person watching, there is actually 25 people listening to a podcast. The main reason for this is that people become distracted by things like who can they see, audio isn’t good, too much movement and even the way they see someone presenting it. The message can be awesome but they never relate to it in the same way as they would if they just listened. People say that they concentrate at another level if the words they hear are all they focus on.
With all that in mind, we chose Spotify and will use their Anchor podcast making software which is entirely free ensuring that anyone can use it. Free was good for us but more than that, it meant that we were on an equal playing field with anyone else. Our resources aren’t a limitation to us in the same way that they would be if we were live streaming.
Insurances were straight forward. We had always used Access Insurers and we knew that they would meet all our needs and give us a good price. It was so easy to set up. Literally one phone call and one email later and we were sorted. Happy days!
The only thing we have really changed that was a high priority on our list is ProPresenter! We were ready, it was in our basket but something just told us not to do it. We were adamant that we were not going back to power point so what was out there? What could meet our needs at this infancy stage?
We found Presenter that is a free piece of software and can be linked to our CCLI Licences. It can be upgraded as we grow for a cost but for now this seems enough for us!
I guess only time will tell if we have made the right call.
Simon & Valda
September 30th 2022
