Lottery Funding
The Community Hall project has been awarded £250,000 from the National Lottery Reaching Communities England fund.
At the beginning of our Restore & Renew project, the Buildings Funding Group carefully considered the available possibilities for obtaining grants towards the renovation of the Community Hall. A number of charities and foundations were identified that might support this project – some of these were specifically Christian organisations and others were not.
One such possibility was the National Lottery Reaching Communities England fund, whose stated aim is to ‘help strengthen communities and improve lives across England’. They are also particularly keen to support projects that aim to be environmentally sustainable and which address climate issues.
At least 25% of the money received by the National Lottery from the sale of lottery tickets is used for good causes, with the rest being used for prizes, tax, and operator costs. The National Lottery Reaching Communities England fund is one way in which this money is distributed to those who need it.
We want to be clear that we don’t endorse the lottery and we don’t think gambling honours God because it isn’t a wise stewardship of resources.
As a Church Council (PCC) we are aware that there are a number of different opinions on whether Christian organisations should seek to benefit from money that comes from a form of gambling. We therefore felt it was important to consider together whether it was appropriate for us to apply to this fund for a grant. We spent some time prayerfully considering the arguments for and against this course of action, some of which are given overleaf.
Our conclusion was that it was acceptable for us to apply to the National Lottery for a grant for the Community Hall.
Some arguments against using Lottery money:
Moral concerns: Lottery money is seen by many as ‘dirty’ due to its gambling origins. Although the Bible does not explicitly speak about gambling, it is not an act of faith, but rather a game of chance. It may not demonstrate good stewardship of God’s resources, it can be exploitative, with one person’s loss funding another’s win, and it can be motivated by greed.
Implied support for gambling: Accepting the funds may suggest the church endorses gambling. Although it can be seen to be at the ‘softer’ end of the gambling spectrum, playing the Lottery can lead to a misuse of funds and could potentially lead to stronger forms of gambling and even addiction.
False hope: The Lottery promotes unrealistic dreams, which the church might appear to validate.
Loss of credibility: The church may be seen as hypocritical or compromised.
Some arguments for using Lottery money:
Positive impact: By using this money for the Kingdom we can redeem it.
Biblical examples: Scripture shows instances of using resources from questionable sources for godly purposes: the gold used to build the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the Egyptians, the apostle Paul ate meat that had been offered to idols, Jesus was happy to be anointed with perfume bought from the proceeds of prostitution.
No money is entirely ‘clean’: We live in a complicated world where money from other sources, including our salaries and interest earned on our savings, may have ethically questionable origins.
It is hard to say that all gambling is wrong when investments can be seen as a form of gambling, blurring the moral distinction. Even raff
les can be viewed as gambling, which we have done at church events previously.
Better used by the church: If we don’t use these funds, others will - possibly with less benefit for our local community
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