Support with running your church: what’s available nationally

Church of England churches can get free resources, free training and even free software from the national church.

For some topics, you can also sign up to one of our national newsletters so that you can find out when new resources are added.

Your diocese also offers a range of practical guidance and resources. Find these through your diocesan website.

Free church administration tools

All the below tools are free for Church of England churches.

If you already have administration tools you are happy with, you can of course continue to use those. If you are not happy with your current solution, or don't have any budget for a paid-for solution, our free options may suit you.

Free website for your church or benefice: AChurchNearYou.com (every church has a listing on AChurchNearYou.com, but your listing quickly becomes a full website when you populate and customise all the available sections).
Free downloadable tracks of hymns and worship songs, ideal if you do not have access to an organist or musicians, or are streaming or pre-recording online services: AChurchNearYou.com Resource Hub.
Free stock images: AChurchNearYou.com Resource Hub.
Free graphic design package: churches can apply for Canva Pro for free, this blog explains how.
Free survey tool to find out about demographics, discipleship and evangelism in your worshipping community: Church Development Tool.
Free online service register to save you time with completing your Annual Parish Return: Online Services Register.
Free room booking system: The Church Organiser.
Free event ticketing system: The Church Organiser. If you prefer to pay for Eventbrite, make sure you access the reduced rate for churches by logging in or registering with Parish Buying.
Free tool to help with administration of baptisms, weddings and funerals (‘Life Events’): The Church Organiser.
Free system for regular giving: Parish Giving Scheme allows people to set up one-off or regular gifts to your church. Automatically claims Gift Aid on your behalf, to reduce administration and improve your cash flow. There is a small transaction charge for processing one-off gifts.
Free software for online and contactless giving: Give A Little enables you to collect online and contactless donations, by connecting with a SumUp and/or Stripe account. The Premium version of Give A Little (free to churches until at least the end of 2024) allows you to customise campaigns with images and videos and collect Gift Aid declarations. SumUp and Stripe charge a small transaction rate for processing donations.

Many of these tools are free to Church of England churches because they are paid for by the Archbishops’ Council using funding from the Church Commissioners.

Advice, guidance and resources by topic (A-Z)

Also check your diocesan website for more.

Administration, accounting and governance

ParishResources.org has resources to support the everyday governance and administration of the local church. Includes Church of England guidance on the day to day tasks of Treasurers, Church Wardens, PCC members and others. Sign up for the Parish Resources newsletter for updates.
Church of England online parish return system (for Statistics for Mission, Return of Parish Finance and the Energy Footprint Tool).
MyFundAccounting is online accounting software specially designed for Church Treasurers. 30 day free trial and discounted rate for Church of England churches. Record all your accounting transactions and funds; submit Parish Returns to the Church of England at the push of a button; produce a range of church and charity specific reports such as the Trustees Annual Report; print or email invoices.

Barrier-free belonging and accessibility

Buildings: Care of church buildings

Buying

Parish Buying - get the best deals on things you need to buy or pay for, including energy, income generation, net zero carbon, building maintenance, AV systems, stationery, contactless giving devices and more. Access special rates that we have negotiated on behalf of churches or ask for quotes from organisations that are experienced in supplying to churches.
Once your membership is authorised, you will receive the Parish Buying Newsletter, and you can change your preferences at any time. Click here to register.

Children, young people, families and schools

Where to start with children and youth ministry.
Stories about what individual churches have done to grow the number of children and young people in their churches.
Stories about what other churches have done to support the spiritual growth of children and young people through connections between school, church, households and community.
JOIN Resources to help churches recruit more volunteers with children and young people.
Training opportunities for both volunteers and paid staff working in children and youth ministry.
Future Youth: A year out, for those aged 18-30, who are interested in exploring ministry with children and young people. Part of the Ministry Experience Scheme. It is free to do with expenses and accommodation included, there are locations all over the Church of England.
Free webinars from the Vision and Strategy team about engaging children and young people.
Sign up to the Church Support Newsletter for the latest stories, webinars and resources about children and youth ministry from the Vision and Strategy team.
Sign up to the Growing Faith foundation newsletter for more ideas and opportunities for putting children, young people and families at the heart of mission and ministry.
Join a free network from the Growing Faith foundation, such as the Toddler Leaders network, which can be useful if your diocese does not offer a similar network already.
The Way UK partner with the Church of England to create free videos for young people that you can use in your youth ministry.
Cheeky Pandas partner with the Church of England to create free videos for children that you can use in children’s ministry.
See also ‘Services: Roots' resources, below.

Community action projects

Guidance.

Clergy: National resources for clergy

Browse all national clergy resources.
Covenant for clergy care and wellbeing.
Church of England Pensions Portal for anyone with a Church of England Pension.
Clergy Transitions Service (CTS).

Digital, social media and websites for churches

Digital Labs blog, webinars and videos help churches with using digital tools like websites, social media and newsletters.
Join the Digital Labs connect Facebook group to receive ad hoc support, exchange ideas with fellow members and stay informed about Digital Labs resources.
Digital Labs guide to online services.
Sign up to the Digital Labs newsletter for more.
Free graphic design package: churches can apply for Canva Pro for free, this blog explains how.
AChurchNearYou.com editor help centre and webinars.
Everyone who registers on AChurchNearYou.com gets the national AChurchNearYou.com editor emails about new features and training webinar dates.

Environment and net zero carbon for churches

Guidance, case studies, webinars.
Sign up to the Environment newsletter for more.

Evangelism

Leading in Evangelism: Free online learning sessions for small groups of leaders who want to see more people come to faith in their community.

Giving: Building a generous church, giving and online giving

Guidance, webinars and training.
Parish Giving Scheme allows people to set up one-off or regular gifts to your church. Automatically claims Gift Aid on your behalf, to reduce administration and improve your cash flow. There is a small transaction charge for processing one-off gifts.
Give A Little enables you to collect online and contactless donations, by connecting with a SumUp and/or Stripe account. The Premium version of Give A Little (provided free of charge to churches) allows you to customise campaigns with images and videos and collect Gift Aid declarations. SumUp and Stripe charge a small transaction rate for processing donations.
Sign up to the Generosity newsletter for more.

Images / photography

Free stock images: AChurchNearYou.com Resource Hub.
Images and copyright: A guide to using images online legally.

Life Events / Occasional Offices (Weddings, Banns, Baptism/Christening, Funerals)

Life Events parochial fees and guidance.
Life Events Diary (free tool to help you manage occasional offices).
Your Church Wedding website.
Christenings website.
Funerals website.

Racial justice

Initiatives, resources and events.

Safeguarding

Services: Intercessions

Advice and ideas for leading prayer through intercessions.
If you subscribe to Roots weekly lectionary resources you will be able to see topical weekly intercessions released online each week. More about Roots below, under ‘Services: Roots’.

Services: Official Church of England service and prayer texts

Worship text and resources on the Church of England website (free) – there is a ‘copy to clipboard’ button at foot of each page.
- The full library of Common Worship, Book of Common Prayer and other centrally authorised/approved services and prayers for use in the Church of England are online and free to access since 2000 – as voted for by General Synod.
- The Church of England has explicit permission from copyright holders for these texts to be made available free on the Church of England website, alongside the official book/eBook resources from which these texts are derived, which are also published/maintained by Church House Publishing (in consultation with the Liturgical Commission).
Dynamic, ready-to-use versions of service and prayer texts for any date in the year are available through the range of apps from Church House Publishing including Daily Prayer app and webpage, with audio (free).

Services: Tools for planning worship/producing service sheets and booklets

Common Worship Lectionary – app and web app (annual subscription less than £9) – collates the collect, readings, post communion prayer and more for everyday Monday to Sunday, plus ‘generate service sheet’ function for Sundays with option to customise with your church name, intro and footer.
Visual Liturgy Live (annual subscription £52, PC only) – a legacy product, but for heavy users of liturgical content, this PC-based desktop programme from Church House Publishing offers a powerful integration of a large library of texts and customisable planning of services.

Services: ‘Roots’ lectionary resources to support worship and learning, for weekly services

Roots weekly lectionary resources, digital or print (annual subscriptions from £64). One version for adults and all age; another version for children and youth. Includes topical weekly intercessions (online only), resources for services, ideas for sermons and for Bible study groups. Produced ecumenically with Church of England as one of the partners.
- This material is para-liturgical – i.e. it is designed for use alongside/within the service structures and regulations of the Church of England. Eucharistic resources include notes on Church of England compliance.
Roots ‘week in focus’ (free): Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the lectionary readings to the latest news and global issues. Includes ‘Check in’ - Connecting faith with every day, real-life issues for young people.

Vocations: Opportunities for you or to suggest to others in your church

What is God’s plan for you? (national vocations webpages).
Ministry Experience Scheme (MES) is a year to explore God’s calling for those aged 18-30. It is free to do with expenses and accommodation included, there are locations all over the Church of England. Opportunities include Future Youth, the strand specifically available for those interested in ministry with children and young people. Sign up to the Ministry Experience Scheme newsletter.
Ministry mentor directory: mentors available for anyone from a historically under-recognised group who is exploring or journeying towards lay/ordained Anglican ministry.
Exploring vocation as disabled and neurodivergent people: seminars to encourage disabled and neurodivergent people to begin a journey of exploration and discernment. To receive emails about upcoming dates contact [email protected].
UK Minority Ethnic vocations events: Online and in person gatherings to support and inspire people from a UK Minority Ethnic background who are exploring, or on the journey towards, lay or ordained ministry. To receive emails about upcoming dates contact [email protected].

Stay up to date on social media

We have a dedicated YouTube channel especially for local church leaders and volunteers: Resources from the Church of England YouTube channel.

Information for local church leaders is shared regularly on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The information on this page is checked regularly to ensure it is up to date. Page created: May 2024. Next update due: November 2024. For any feedback on this page, please email [email protected].