3,000	volunteers are able to work with children and young people
	2,000	children and adults are baptised into the Christian church each year
	2,000	bereaved families are comforted by Christian ministers and churches each year
	1,500	people are prepared for Christian marriage and have a church wedding
	400	clergy and lay ministers, authorised and actively leading the Church, are teaching and ministering
	50	people are being trained for ministry at any one time

I have heard various amounts given for the cost of a stipendiary minister. What is the actual cost to the Diocese?
The total cost of a stipendiary minister to the Diocese is £44,000; as well as stipend and NI contributions, this includes ongoing training and support, average housing repair costs, Council Tax and water rates and pension contributions.

I have heard we have a lot of ministers in training at the moment. Surely there’s a knock on cost?
We currently have about 50 ministers in pre-ordination or admission training and 40 training curates. Training ministers is vital to the future of the Church and in all, we invest almost £1m in initial training of our ministers.

Pre-ordination training ranges from between £7,000 and £15,000 each year. However, training costs are shared with other dioceses through the national Church and currently Bristol’s training costs are heavily subsidised. 16 of our training curates are stipendiary (each costing over £40,000). If we were to share these costs between each benefice, the cost per year would be £9,000.

How much of our expenditure goes on governance and infrastructure?
To support the governance and infrastructure of the Diocese and the national Church, we spend approx £750,000 each year, £250,000 of which is our contribution to national Church costs (not including pre-ordination training). This is just under 10% of total diocesan costs and we receive a good deal from the national Church too (see below).

We have two Bishops. Isn’t that an unnecessary expense?
The cost of our Bishops, their office staff and their working costs are met by the national Church (Church Commissioners). Although they have significant national Church responsibilities, they devote the majority of their time and ministry to the Diocese.

Don’t we give far too much money to the national Church?
In total, we share £450,000 with the national Church – this is predominantly for ordination training and to support national Church of England governance.

However, costs of ordination training alone of Diocese of Bristol candidates is currently in the region of £500,000 and we also currently receive grants from the national Church of about £350,000 for various purposes. In addition, they fund our Bishops’ ministries and parts of Bristol Cathedral’s ministry. We are therefore substantial net receivers as a diocese from the national Church.

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£7,500 - enables a clergy person to live in the communities she or he serves. The Diocese provides a dedicated property service and housing for all stipendiary clergy, all fit for purpose and in a high standard of repair. As a result, clergy can lead, rooted in their church and local communities, in a home that equips them for ministry.

 

£45,000 - ensures clergy are encouraged and equipped to take responsibility for their own personal and professional development. It is vital that clergy can cultivate and access appropriate support networks to meet the challenges they face in a healthy and sustainable way. Revd Ian Tomkins, our Adviser for Ministerial Support, helps clergy find those networks and access resources that are relevant to them.

 

£85,000 - funds two stipendiary clergy to work and live in deprived areas of Bristol and Swindon. The approach to ministry is changing in these communities. For example, in Pinehurst in Swindon and Knowle West in South Bristol, churches are seeking to find mission-driven and sustainable ways of building Christ-centred community in challenging settings.

 

£25,000 - means we can really resource our links with Uganda and the global church Revd Chris Dobson supports our Deanery links with Ugandan dioceses, promoting partnership in mission. In addition, Chris brokers partnerships with organisations who share our aspirations, like Christian Aid, Tearfund and mission agencies.

 

£30,000 - enables developmental work in four different benefices in a vacancy. More than a dozen benefices come into vacancy each year and our Leadership Development Advisers are working with them to grow more local leadership and, in many cases, help parishes prepare for a new priest. The result is stronger, more appropriate and collaborative ministry.

 

£25,000 - provides training for all our curates and Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMS). We will have 45 curates by the summer who participate in a fantastic training programme, the LLM Conference last year was a great time for lay ministers and many LLMs have taken part in Growing Leaders over the last few years.

 

£40,000 – funds and houses a stipendiary training curate in the Diocese of Bristol. This summer, we will have 45 training curates of which 15 are stipendiary, under the supervision of experienced clergy, in suitable settings and participating in a fantastic training programme. As a result, their ministry is developing so that they might become strategic leaders in the Church in the years ahead.