The Church of Scotland has been told it needs to move towards a more sustainable funding model and should better adapt itself to the work of God in the present age.
The outgoing convener of the Church of Scotland’s Assembly Trustees, Rev David Cameron, presented the General Assembly with a final report that showed an operating surplus of £1.207 million for 2025. The Church had budgeted for a loss of £6.06 million for the year, meaning that the year was financially better than anticipated.
Despite this, the report noted that it was built largely on one-off or unpredictable income, such as legacies and higher than expected investment returns.
Funding has been a key issue for the Church of Scotland. Earlier this year, former Moderator, the Rt Rev Rosie Frew, warned that the end of a government funding scheme for historic churches threatened the viability of some its properties. Indeed, the Church has already sold off a number of historic buildings due to changing demographics and unsustainable costs.
In his report, Cameron appeared to hint at this, "We have been at risk of entering a cycle of ever-deepening cuts. We have taken difficult decisions and those have bought us time, but we cannot continue to cut our way to sustainability.”
He added that the Church had been seeking to simplify its processes so that more time and energy could be put into the core mission of “worship, witness and service”.
In his report Cameron proposed a shift in the Church funding model, in which churches would be encouraged to be more creative and proactive in their own fundraising. The aim would be for each congregation to be self-sufficient, but a Solidarity Fund would also be in place to assist churches that are struggling.
Cameron said, "Covenant means no congregation or presbytery stands alone and we all bear one another's burdens together."
He also said, "The question is not whether God is at work. The question is whether we will align our structures, our finances, and our imagination with that work and that requires change."
