Stewardship Services

Overview

Stewardship Services is a large UK charity supporting various evangelical Christian causes. Its website summarises:

'We envision a thriving UK church, abundantly resourcing the global work of the Kingdom of God... At the core, we seek to serve the cause of Christ and His Kingdom in every dimension of our work.'^[1]

Its official charitable objectives, as reported by the Charities Commission, are

'To advance the evangelical Christian faith including by preaching the gospel and holding religious services and meetings; to promote the publication and distribution of the Bible and other Christian literature; to advance the education of children and adults in accordance with the doctrines and principles of evangelical Christianity; to relieve need, hardship and distress, especially amongst evangelists, teachers and others who have given service to the trust or helped promote the objects; otherwise to promote the charitable work of evangelical Christian churches, societies and charities...'

It is a registered charity (no. 234714).

Affiliations

The Charities Commission links it to the United Kingdom Evangelization Trust Common Investment Fund.

Finances

It reported an income of nearly £55.5 million for the year ending September 2012, and spending of just over £50 million in the same period. In that period, it employed 38 people.^[2]

Collecting funds for Israeli settlement

Stewardship Services UK has acknowledged collecting funds on behalf of another charity, Christian Friends of Israeli Communities (CFOIC). These funds, Stewardship has reportedly said, 'go solely to a project in Kochav Yaakov'.^[3]

Kochav Yaakov is an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

After Corporate Watch sent Stewardship a letter urging it to end its support for CFOIC, it responded with a refusal:

' Dear Corporate Watch

Thank you for your open letter explaining your concerns on Christian Friends of Israeli Communities.

We are aware that the region evokes complex political and theological views. We do not hold a position on political issues in this or any region.

Our primary goal remains the Advancement of the Christian faith. Our charitable objectives also allow us to support the relief of poverty. Our agreement with CFIOC [sic] on use of funds is that they will be used solely in the provision of a hot lunch for children in Kochav Yaakov whose parents cannot afford to do so.

We will continue to monitor the use of our funds to see that they are used for this purpose and meet the advice from regulators, such as the Charity Commission. As part of our on-going monitoring we are reviewing advice given by UK government and Charity regulators to charities working in the region.

Regards

Frances Miles Head of Giving Services, Stewardship'^[4]

As Corporate Watch notes, Stewardship's donation form for CFOIC gives taxpaying donors the option to claim Gift Aid for their donation, 'amounting to a British government subsidy to CFOIC'.^[5]