Thank you to everyone who prayerfully give us their best guess
We’ve now closed submissions for the 2026 Best Guess. Please keep an eye on the Church Family News for details about what the results will mean for our church family next year.
It’s about the heart, not the amount
1. Pray
2. Reflect
3. Guess
4. Give
Taking the time to submit a best guess creates space to pause and prayerfully consider an important aspect of your Christian life.
This might be the first time many of us have thought wholistically about giving, or this might be something you’ve done many times before. You might need help working out what to do and how to approach it.
Either way, it’s an opportunity to reflect on God’s generosity, while also helping our church plan wisely and make the biggest impact we can for the gospel.
Your best guess is between you and God, and yet when everyone participates, we celebrate together the joy of giving and the difference we can make as a family of faith.
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Take a moment to thank God and ask for his help with this part of your Christian life.
Thank God for his generous heart. Thank him for the resources and finances he’s given you.
Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deut 8:18
What do you have that you did not receive? 1Cor 4:7Ask God to make you generous too. Thank him for his forgiveness in this area and ask God to show you where your heart is and what might need to change to please him more.
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Take some time to reflect on your current financial position.
What was your total income last financial year? How is going likely to change this year?
How did you express generosity last year? How much went towards church, mission and things like Compassion? What percentage was it? Is that something you’re happy with or do you need to try and change?
What % are you going to aim for in 2026?
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Use the online form (above) to let us know your Best Guess of what you’re going to give in 2026.
Please make sure you get this in before Nov 14.
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If you can, why not go ahead and setup or update your regular giving.
This will mean either logging into your bank portal and updating or creating a regular transaction to the church account.
Or, if you’re using a debit card, go to the hbc.au/give page to setup a regular debit card transaction.
How we think about money
We want to be a church that approaches money with holiness and wisdom. That goes for us as individuals, households, and as a church ‘organisation’.
As a church
What does it mean for our church to be holy and wise?
Our commitment to holiness means we’re committed to total transparency; our finance committee tracks every expense, and we get independently audited each year. Want to see the P&L? Sure thing! Want to ask about the Balance sheet? Just ask!
Being wise means we’re careful with how we use money, and we’re committed to ensuring every dollar gets used to support and further gospel work.
More about our finances
Ask anything at finance@hunterbiblechurch.org
As Individuals and Households
These financial principles of holiness and wisdom apply to us as individual church members too.
A commitment to holiness means all Christians are called to be wary of greed, and to cultivate cheerful and generous hearts to support the church family we belong to (Mat 6:19-21, 1Tim 6:7, Gal 6:6).
Similarly, we’re called to wisely invest our worldly wealth in eternal purposes. As Jesus says, “if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:8-12)
Resources for you
Gospel Generosity (workbook & discussion guide)
CAP Basic Budget Calculator (Excel / Google Sheet)
Where money comes from
Where money goes
What could we do if we had the money?
There’s so much we would love to see happen around our church, that we can’t afford. This doesn’t lead us to despair - it leads us to prayer.
The reality is that for the next year or so, about 95% of our expenses are fixed; that means we have a certain number of staff who serve wholeheartedly and we pay every month, we have loan repayments every month for Garden Suburb and rent in the City and Unichurch, we have Utilities and Bills that are pretty well set every month. On top of this, we have all the various programs that just cost money to run; The Life Series, Tuesday Feed, Friday Youth, Sunday Kids, Women’s Growth Group, AllNations, Unichurch Oweek events, Carols, Summer Mission, Christianity Explored, not to mention all the food we love providing at events like Easter, Christmas, All-In days, etc.. Many of these are aimed at unbelievers who we want to share Jesus with, so we don’t want to charge them if we can help it!
But, if we did have a bit more space in the budget, there are some things we’d love to be able to do.
Glass doors and new carpet for the G.S. Lounge $40k
We’d love to make this space really wonderful for running Life Series, Training, Creche, Lil’Buds, etc.
Renting more space for City Kids Church $15k
As the kids program grows in the City Campus, we’d love to rent some space next-door on Sundays to expand and give the kids somewhere to go.
Mezzanine and/or Outdoor space at G.S. $50k - 500k?
Who’d have thought the Garden Suburb foyer would run out of space? But as we consider new Sunday services, we’re going to need more places for people to mingle before and after church. We really don’t know how much this will cost :)
Help Youth and Kids Leaders get to MYC $10k
We love that so many of our Youth and Kids leaders come from Unichurch, and we’d like to make it easier for them to afford the best conference of their life!
Other things:
More parking at Garden Suburb $15k
Complete the GS Kitchen $40k
Frequently asked questions
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A pledge is a commitment — you’re promising to give a certain amount. A best guess isn’t a promise. It’s simply your prayerful estimate of what you think you might give over the next season. It helps our church plan wisely, but there’s no obligation. The real aim is to encourage everyone to reflect on God’s generosity and consider their own.
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That’s totally fine! A best guess isn’t a binding commitment. If your circumstances change, your giving can change too. The form is just to help us plan as wisely as we can with the information we have.
If you really want to let us know, just email finance@hunterbiblechurch.org and we’ll take that into account as we plan.
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Yes — you don’t have to put in your name at all. Your best guess is between you and God, and keeping it anonymous helps take away any pressure or comparison. We only see the total numbers together, not who gave what.
If you choose to ask for an email reminder, that’s the one exception — the system will keep a record linked to your email so it can send you that reminder. Otherwise, there’s no personal record kept of your best guess.
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That’s completely okay! A best guess is just that — a thoughtful estimate, not a promise. Take some time to prayerfully consider what might be possible, and give your best guess with confidence that God sees your heart, not the exact number.
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Absolutely — it can be really helpful to talk with trusted friends or mentors if you’re unsure. Hearing others’ experiences or perspectives can give insight and encouragement. Just remember, your best guess is ultimately between you and God, so let your heart and prayer guide the final decision.
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There’s no fixed formula — it’s a personal decision guided by prayer. The New Testament gives some guidance: giving to the local church is often presented as a responsibility or obligation, supporting the ongoing work, care, and ministry of the community you belong to (see Galatians 6:6, 1 Timothy 5:17–18). External mission, on the other hand, is more like an investment opportunity — a chance to participate in God’s kingdom work beyond your immediate context, reaching those who have not yet heard the gospel.
As we’ve surveyed our staff and elders, it seems that about 60–70% of their giving goes to the church first, reflecting that sense of responsibility, with the remainder directed toward mission and wider kingdom impact. Some may feel led to give more to one than the other, while others may divide their giving more evenly. The key is to approach both prayerfully, considering God’s heart for generosity, the needs of the church, and the opportunity to make an eternal difference through mission. Your best guess can reflect both a faithful commitment to your church family and a joyful participation in God’s wider work in the world.
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No — it’s completely optional. The most important part of the campaign is taking time to reflect on God’s generosity and your own. Putting in a best guess is simply a way to share that reflection and help the church plan wisely, but even if you don’t submit one, the real win is the prayerful thought you’ve given to generosity.
If you’d still like to help the church with its overall best guess, but don’t want to fill out the form, you can email bestguess@hunterbiblechurch.org
and simply let us know how much you’re planning to increase or lower your giving in 2026 (e.g. “I’m increasing my church giving by 2%”). That way your input is still factored in without needing to put in a number yourself.