ACFA News - Chairman's Newsletter

June 2009

Time seems to pass so quickly! Here we are nearly half way through 2009 already.

I recently heard from Christians Against Poverty – a fantastic Christian charity helping people who are in debt - that in May they had so many requests for help that 200 enquiries could not be fully dealt with.  There are very many people facing serious financial difficulties and, sadly, the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

This also confirms to me that our message about how to handle money from a Biblical perspective needs to be more widely known so as to stop people getting into debt in the first place. Preventative action is far better than the pain of the cure. People need to understand the skill of budgeting and managing that budget well.

Now onto the work of ACFA:

Conference 2009

We have lined up some excellent speakers for both days of the conference and are currently finalising the programme. All the details will be posted on the web site by early July. You will also receive an email with the Agenda.  Meanwhile please make sure you have put the date in your diary: Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th November at Hothorpe Hall, Leicestershire.

Membership

Angela has been working very hard to bring the data base fully up-to-date and streamline the renewals process. This work is now almost complete and membership administration should be much easier and more efficient in future.  I would like to apologise to some of you who received a request to renew your membership and set up a standing order when these were already in place.

I am delighted to welcome the following new members who have ACFA joined during the last few months:
Graham Harmer of Foot Davson in Tunbridge Wells;
Alastair Wood of AW Accounting in Gravesend;
Wendy Fleming of Fleming McDonald in Aberdeen.

New-look Website

In order to move forward as an Association it was agreed that the Website should be redesigned and upgraded. Angela has been working with Neville Palmer, our web designer, to give the Site a more dynamic and welcoming feel.  We have taken on-board feedback about the Site and, amongst other improvements, have made navigation of the site easier and the Adviser Search facility more prominent with more results per search.  The Site will be updated with news, information, commentary and articles on a frequent and regular basis, so that it becomes an invaluable resource both for our members and the wider public.

At our face-to-face Board meeting earlier this month we looked at the updated Site so far and, I must say, I am really impressed with it. I look forward to launching it by early July. Angela will send you all an email to let you know the exact date the Site will go live. Once you start using it I am sure you will appreciate the improvements.

The Board

Since my last newsletter the Board and Ambassador have had a telephone conference and an all day face-to-face meeting in London. We have also dealt with numerous and diverse enquiries from individuals and organisations, all of which takes time.

We are currently putting together a Press/Media Plan which will we will launch in July and which will see ACFA become far more active and vocal on both general financial and key FSA issues. We are also actively seeking to build mutually beneficial relationships and web-links with other appropriate organisations.  We already have great relationships with Kingdom Bank, CAP (Christians Against Poverty), Credit Action, Stewardship, Financial Professional and we are looking to develop many more.

Life Beyond Debt Conference

I spent a very interesting day at the Beyond Debt Conference. The speakers were drawn from a wide range of Christian organisations including Evangelical Alliance, Jubilee Centre, Stewardship Money, CAP, Credit Action, Care for the Family, Church of England, Glory House of London Docklands plus the then Secretary of State, the Rt. Hon Hazel Blears MP, who was there to recognise and offer her support for and all the good work that is being done.

Overall the sense was that many people are being helped. This was a fantastic opportunity for Christians to come together to devise an action plan for continuing to bring practical support with the love of Christ to as many as possible of our citizens facing financial problems. Late on in the afternoon someone shared with the conference that before Christmas a number of key Christians from around the UK had met at the House of Lords and the conclusion had been a powerful call to repent and ask forgiveness on behalf of our nation for the way we have mishandled God’s resources and chosen to ignore his ways.

I made a number of new contacts on the day and have since been interviewed on Premier Christian Radio. Unfortunately the interview was aired without my being informed of the date and time!  I also met with David Jones, Chief Executive at Stewardship, to discuss the possibility of working together more closely in future. Formal recommendations for new partnerships will be made at the ACFA conference in November.

Ambassador

This new post has worked out very well so far. Angela is doing a great job, so please continue to pray for her.  Her contact details are: Angela Hardy, ACFA Administration, P.O. Box 425, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 9LZ. Telephone:  01892 864599.  Email: acfa@live.co.uk .

Prayer

Please continue to pray for us all on the Board as we endeavour to move the Association forward according to God’s will whilst also managing our busy business (and personal) lives.

E-News Updates

Over the next few months we will be sending out shorter and more frequent e-updates so as to keep you informed on a more regular basis.

Graham Cleveland