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You, Money, and your Church

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This church has no central funding body and receives no outside financial support — everything we do together depends on what we contribute together. This page is an honest conversation about that, and about how to think through your part in it.

Why it matters

Many people think of their giving primarily as an act of worship — an offering to God. That’s entirely right. But it’s also worth remembering that your financial contribution is an expression of your commitment to a particular group of people. It’s your share of the costs of doing what we do together. In most organisations you belong to, someone sets a membership fee. In a church, you set your own. That’s a privilege, but it also asks something of us: to think carefully and honestly about what our fair share actually is.

Giving and decision-making

When a church meeting considers taking on a new financial commitment, this is worth keeping in mind: you are voting on something you will share the cost of. If you’re willing and able to increase your giving by whatever percentage is needed, vote in favour. If you’re not able to, please say so — and either vote against or abstain. This isn’t about guilt; it’s about honesty. Other people need that information to make a good decision together.

How to give

Most of us now handle our significant financial commitments electronically, and it makes sense to handle church giving the same way. Setting up a regular electronic payment means your giving is consistent and reliable — and you can still mark it with a moment of prayer and dedication, even without a plate passing by.

There are a few ways to set this up:

  • Periodic payment — the simplest option for most people. Set it up through your own online banking to make a regular payment to the church account. You stay in full control.
  • Direct debit — similar effect, but initiated from our end. Requires completing a form authorising the withdrawal.
  • Salary splitting — some employers will split your pay across multiple accounts. If yours will, you can arrange for your intended giving to go straight from your pay into the church account.
  • Credit card or PayPal — you can also give online using the button on the right.

For any of these, the church bank account details are:

BSB: 704 922
Account no: 100 005 423
Name: South Yarra Community Baptist Church (changing soon!)

Please include your name with any payment, or let our treasurer Ian Cook know your payment schedule — otherwise anonymous deposits can be tricky to account for at audit time.

How much should you give?

There are two ways to approach this.

One is to start from the budget. Our budgeted offerings figure is $97,000 per year. If you divide that among the members who are able to contribute and factor in your own financial situation relative to the group, you get a rough sense of your share.

The more common approach is to give a percentage of your income. The traditional biblical guideline was a tithe — 10% of gross income — but that developed in a very different economic context and doesn’t translate well to modern city life, where housing alone can consume more than half a person’s income. A few years ago we developed a more nuanced formula that accounts for major living expenses before arriving at a suggested giving amount. It looks complicated written out, but the calculator below makes it straightforward.

The formula for calculating your suggested minimum financial contribution to the church (updated May 2026).

For a Single Person

  1. Decide what time interval to work with (probably you pay interval), whether weekly, fortnightly, monthly or something else. Apply that interval to all steps.
  2. Take your net income (after tax and superannuation deductions).
  3. Deduct your housing costs (rent or mortgage payments) and any regular medical or pharmaceutical costs (some people have chronic conditions).
  4. Deduct $11,000 per year ($917 p.m., $423 p.f., $212 p.w.). If your utilities costs are included in your rent (eg. Boarding House), this deduction should only be $7800 per year. If your meals and your utilities are included in your rent (eg. Supported accommodation) there is no deduction here.
  5. From the remainder, deduct 15% or $100 per week (whichever is the greater) for each dependent child.
  6. 16% of the remainder is your agreed minimum contribution. However if you have special circumstances that the formula doesn’t take into account, speak to the pastor and a variation may be recommended.

Variation for couple – both involved in the church.

  • Use your combined income but double the deduction at step 4.

Variation for partnered person whose partner is not involved in the church.

  • If you are the higher income earner of the couple, use the above formula based on your combined income but double the deduction at step 4, and at step six, use 8% instead of 16%.
  • If you are the lower income earner of the couple, use the above formula based on your combined income but double the deduction at step 4, and at step six, reduce the 16% according to the proportion of your income in the combined income. E.g. if you earn one quarter of your combined income, then your contribution is one quarter of 16% = %4.

What if you have nothing to give?

For some of us, the calculator will confirm what we already know: that after the essentials are covered, there’s simply nothing left. If that’s where you are, please don’t carry guilt about it. Money is not the only thing this community needs. Time, presence, practical help, and the exercise of your gifts are all genuine contributions — and for some of us, those may be the more significant ones.