Starting conversations about money
A new resource has been launched to help people to talk about money in congregations and community groups.
The Jesus Money card game has been developed as a partnership between the Just Finance Foundation, Transforming Churches Together and the Diocese of Lichfield. David Primrose, Social Responsibility Officer for the Diocese of Lichfield, said: “Jesus talked a lot about money, but in our parishes, the conversation is often skewed towards how we can meet parish costs. As churches, we come into contact with people who might be struggling with money but don’t want to ask for help. Jesus Money is a way to start the conversation.”
Similar to the Grave Talk resource, Jesus Money contains cards with questions which are designed to be discussion starters for small groups. There are four different colour coded subject matters – save, spend, borrow and give. Some of the questions are completely general and others have more of a church-focus. All are designed to give the opportunity to talk about money in a completely non-threatening way.
Matt Adcock, Head of Communications for the Church Urban Fund, said: “We trialled a whole range of different questions before producing the pack, using a score card to work out which ones resulted in the best discussion starters. Some of the questions are quite challenging, but all give the opportunity to say things out loud in a safe space. When you start using the cards, you don’t know where the discussion will take you – there are no right & wrong answers. If there’s a topic that people don’t want to talk about, you can just turn over to the next card.”
The cards are recommended for use in small groups where everyone gets the chance to participate. They could be used in a church context, or in existing community groups. How it works:
Simply shuffle the pack, turn over the top card, and start talking. When you are ready, turn over the next card. There are no right answers, just good conversations.
The basic pack contains 52 cards, with open questions on how we give, save, borrow and spend. There are 12 extra cards for church groups to include.
