My name is James Watterson, and I work as Christian Aid’s legacy campaign adviser. It’s not a position I could have imagined myself in just a few years ago. I was a Baptist pastor for twenty years and only ever mentioned gifts in Wills in church when we received one. I didn’t know it at the time, but my experience is pretty common. In fact, 64% of regular worshippers have never heard gifts in Wills mentioned in their church.
When I had a Sunday away from my church I enjoyed talking about Christian Aid’s work as a volunteer speaker. Now, working for Christian Aid, I still volunteer. I’ve been privileged to talk to churches about Christian Aid Week, emergency appeals and climate justice. But, until recently, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable speaking about the power of gifts in Wills. So, what changed? And why do I want to see more Christian Aid speakers feel confident and passionate about these special gifts?
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Inspiring people to make a positive impact
The biggest change came from listening to legacy pledgers. I had thought about legacies in terms of death and lawyers’ offices. But these people spoke of their love for Christian Aid, their passion for justice, and a desire to see their values live on. I began to see gifts in Wills as life affirming; a testament to the lives that we have lived and a blessing to others.
The second shift was learning how vital gifts in Wills are to Christian Aid. I knew that these gifts were important but had no idea that over one third of all Christian Aid’s fundraising income comes from legacy giving. This money makes so much difference to the work we do across the world. Why wasn’t I talking about it?
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Introducing Faith Will
Then I learned about Faith Will, the project that I now manage. Faith Will is a unique and award-winning partnership approach to legacy giving.
We discovered that over two thirds of people who leave a gift in their Will to Christian Aid also leave a gift to their local church. Typically, the gift to the church is as large or larger. So, it made sense for churches and Christian Aid to work together to tell people about this inspiring way to let our values live on by supporting our church families and our global neighbours.
Faith Will now has seven denominational partners* but it works for any church. It’s a great way to start the legacy conversation. We have a flexible range of resources so that churches can engage in a way that suits them: Some may simply want to put out leaflets, or show a video. Others might prefer to hear about Faith Will from a speaker as part of a wider talk about Christian Aid’s work.
Join the legacy conversation
I hope you’ll consider joining me in learning how to speak about these special gifts with confidence. We’ll learn about ways to talk about gifts in Wills in a positive and life affirming way.
We’ll also discover how to include the message alongside other topics like Harvest and discuss some concerns. There’s no pressure to talk about legacies if you don’t feel comfortable. But I hope, like me, you may be inspired by the positive impact they have and help your church and others start the legacy conversation.
To join one of our training sessions just email us your full name and which session you’d like to attend.
If you’d like to find out more about Faith Will and order some of our resources for your church, please visit our Faith Will page.
*The Church of England, The Church of Scotland, The United Reformed Church, The Quakers, The Presbyterian Church of Wales, the Church in Wales and the Union of Welsh Independents.
