The Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission have come together to help churches across the UK consider the enormous blessing of leaving gifts in your Will. We want to help UK Baptists think about whether they could help the life-transforming work of The Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission continue long into the future by leaving a gift to both organisations. By doing this, you’ll ensure that lives continue to be shaped by God’s never-ending love, whether in the UK or all around the world.

A resource pack has been designed for Baptist churches in the UK to enable congregations to run their own legacy-focussed church service.

This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the idea of leaving an ongoing blessing to support God’s mission both in the UK and overseas.

The resource pack is designed for all Baptist churches in the UK, even if you don’t already partner with BMS World Mission or donate to The Baptist Union of Great Britain’s Home Mission fund.

The pack contains all the resources that you need to introduce your church family to the idea of legacy giving. It enables a congregation (or small group) leader to present the idea of leaving gifts in your Will, based on the biblical idea of blessings that pass from one generation to the next. Those using the pack will be encouraged to see their ability to powerfully change lives, both in the UK and around the world, through legacy giving to both BMS and The Baptist Union of Great Britain.

The resource pack includes both worship resources for a church service(s) and promotional materials for general use.

The worship resources are: a service outline, sermon notes, all-age talk outline, prayer activities, small-group questions and activities, children’s and adults’ colouring sheets and a video.

The promotional materials are: a poster for you to display on your church noticeboard, and a take-home leaflet which has all the practical details of how you can leave gifts in your Will, to be used alongside the church service.

This fantastic resource pack can be used to build an entire church service or series of services (including children’s work), with follow-up in the week through home/life groups using the small-group activities. However, it could also be used as just a home/life group study, or any other midweek group (perhaps a missions meeting).

All the worship resources are available to download.

You will also be able to order a poster for your church noticeboard and leaflets to use in your church service, free of charge, to be sent to an address of your choice.

It can be used at any time in the church calendar. We’d love to hear how and when you plan on using it! Please contact us with any feedback!

Thank you so much for generously considering leaving gifts to BMS World Mission and The Baptist Union of Great Britain in your Will. Through your kind support of both organisations, you will transform precious lives with Jesus’ love for generations to come.

We would always recommend you speak to a qualified professional, such as a solicitor, when making or changing your Will. Please note that the information here does not constitute legal advice. If you don’t already have a solicitor, then you can try searching on The Law Society’s website to find a local one. Go to www.lawsociety.org.uk if you live in England or Wales, www.lawscot.org.uk if you live in Scotland or www.lawsoc-ni.org if you live in Northern Ireland. If you are looking for a Christian lawyer, you can have a look at www.lawcf.org/lawyer-search

You will need to specify separate gifts for both The Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission. All you need are the following addresses:

BMS World Mission
PO Box 49, 129 Broadway
Didcot
OX11 8XA
Charity number: 1174364

The Baptist Union of Great Britain
PO Box 44, 129 Broadway
Didcot
OX11 8RT
Charity number: 1181392

You could also simply download and fill in our handy codicil form ( Word Doc or PDF ) which you can use to specify your gifts and then keep alongside your original Will.
 

If you have any further questions, please contact us! We would love to hear from you.

Yes, of course! We would be delighted if you wanted to share these resources with your congregation or any other contacts.

We would love to hear how you have got on with using this resource in your church! Please contact us with your comments and questions – and if you take any photos of your legacy themed services or activities, we’d love to see them too!

Making a Will is the only way you can be sure your wishes will be followed after you die, as well as allowing you to provide for the people and causes you care about.
 

We would always recommend you speak to a qualified professional, such as a solicitor, when making or changing your Will.
 

It can be very simple to make or update a Will. You can choose to write your Will for free using our simple free-will writing service with trusted partners Octopus Legacy.

You could also visit your own solicitor. You’ll need our charity addresses and charity numbers and to let your solicitor know what type of gifts you wish to leave (see more about the types of gifts you can leave below).

You will need to specify separate gifts for both The Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission.

BMS World Mission
PO Box 49, 129 Broadway
Didcot
OX11 8XA
Charity number: 1174364

The Baptist Union of Great Britain
PO Box 44, 129 Broadway
Didcot
OX11 8RT
Charity number: 1181392

There are three types of gifts that you can leave in your Will:

1. A share in your estate, called a residuary legacy. This is a gift of all or part of what is left in your estate after taxes, debts and other gifts have been distributed.
2. A specific sum, called a pecuniary legacy. Please speak to your solicitor about protecting the value of your gift by directly linking it to the cost of living (index linking).
3. A specific item – a gift of specific items such as property.

All gifts to charities are free from inheritance tax. A solicitor can advise you on how to reduce the rate of inheritance tax you pay by leaving at least ten per cent of your estate to charity.

There has been an extension to the current inheritance tax threshold, which means that the £325,000 threshold will stay in effect until 2030. As a result, more estates are likely to be subject to inheritance tax, as inflation and property prices push up estate values.

From April 2027, unused pension funds and death benefits will also be included in a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes. This change is expected to further increase the number of estates that could be eligible for inheritance tax due to an increase in overall estate values.

We completely understand that it is really important that you provide for your loved ones in your Will! Please do consider leaving a gift to BMS and the Baptist Union of Great Britain too, to ensure that this Kingdom work can continue long into the future.

Your executor is responsible for handling your estate and ensuring your wishes are carried out, so it’s important to choose someone you trust. You can choose anyone over the age of 18, and they can be someone who is named in your Will. We would recommend choosing at least 2 executors.

Many people significantly underestimate their assets. If you use our free-will writing service then you will find it easy to work out your assets through their step-by-step guide.

Our free Will-Writing Service with trusted partners Octopus Legacy allows you to simply and easily write a Will. Click here for more information or call them on 020 4525 3605.

You don’t have to tell us if you’ve left us a gift, but it is very useful for us to know so we can thank you.

Yes, you can ask your solicitor or professional Will writer to make amendments to your Will at any time. Depending on the extent of the changes you would like to make to your existing Will, it might be possible for you to use a codicil to make your amendments. You can download our codicils here ( Word Doc or PDF ). Please remember to include our full names and charity numbers.