The Oak Community Project, Christ the King Church, Birkenhead: The gift that keeps on giving
A contactless giving machine has helped a church community project in one of the country’s most deprived areas increase donations
‘WE WANT TO SHOW PEOPLE the love of the Lord Jesus,’ says Denise Price, Community and Family Worker at the Oak Community Project at Christ the King Church in Birkenhead. For more than 15 years, the project has put this commitment into action, supporting local people who are in crisis or experiencing increased cost-of-living pressures through a community supermarket offering affordable food, clothing and household essentials.
But the project is about more than practical support. It offers a warm welcome, a sense of belonging and the chance to rebuild confidence and find hope. And, thanks to a contactless giving machine introduced in 2024, the generosity that sustains this work is reaching further, helping the project continue and develop its support for the local community.
Mandy*, a mum of two, first came to the church while living in a women’s refuge. The project became a vital lifeline for her during this difficult time:
‘The amount of support is amazing. Over Christmas they helped out massively, providing little things for the kids. Each week I know I can come here and get affordable food for my family and it’s easy to donate on my card. It’s a massive support and such a welcoming community. Once I got back on my feet, I wanted to give something back, so I donated things to help others as well. It’s brilliant here.’
*Name changed
Making it easier to give
The Oak Community Project depends on the generosity of those who give their time, skills, resources and money. In 2024, the church received a contactless giving machine through a £1.25 million Church of England project that provided more than 2,200 devices to parishes, making it easier for people to give by card.
‘Giving has increased significantly since we received the contactless giving device and this has enabled us as a project to work so much more positively with other agencies for the benefit of our community’ Rev’d Debbie Wilkinson
Since introducing the machine, the project has seen its annual donations rise from around £3,000 to approximately £14,000. This additional income is helping the team sustain and develop the project.
The machine has also proved straightforward and flexible to use. As the Rev’d Debbie Wilkinson, associate minister at Christ the King Church, said:
‘The machine is so easy to use. It mainly stays in our Oak Community Project, but it is portable so we will take it into our Sunday morning service, and we will use it for weddings and baptism services as well. You can change it for different campaigns – such as Men’s Breakfast or fundraising. If other churches are nervous about installing a machine – I would say please don’t be – I can highly recommend it!’
The difference generosity makes
The project’s impact can be seen in the lives of the people who come through its doors and those who help make its work possible.
‘Our aim is to see people lifted out of poverty and isolation, growing in confidence and realising their God-given identity and potential. We are about restoring dignity and hope. The project helps people out sometimes during the most difficult time in their lives.’
Denise Price, Community and Family Worker, Oak Community Project
‘Seven years ago my partner died and then the pandemic came and there wasn’t contact with anybody. A person from a local agency brought me here – it’s so awesome. I enjoy being here, I enjoy the company, I enjoy seeing and talking to people and mixing and I would rather be here than at home. There’s so much you can learn and do.’
Linda, Oak Community Project
‘I had an accident at work, it was hard, there were so many things to pay for still but not enough money. The Oak Community Project meant I could get basic household items for just £3 a week suggested donation and this helped me during a difficult time. Now I am getting better I want to give back and volunteer here to help people. It’s honestly a beautiful project.’
Sara, Oak Community Project
Contactless giving can benefit every church
Research shows that churches in wealthier areas tend to have more contactless giving devices than in churches in deprived parishes
- In 2025 almost 70% of parishes in the least deprived areas had adopted contactless giving
- Almost 50% in deprived areas had adopted contactless giving machines.
To help close this gap, the Church of England has invested £500,000 in a further rollout of contactless giving machines for churches in some of the most deprived areas of the country.
Grace Emmett, Strategic Lead for Giving Mechanisms at the Church of England, said:
‘We know that contactless giving is beneficial for all different types of churches, including those in our most deprived parishes… It is incredible to see the impact that Christ the King’s device has had, three years on from when they originally received it, and I hope that many more churches will benefit from access to a mechanism for contactless giving as a result of this new rollout project.’
The National Giving Team will distribute the devices through dioceses in phases, beginning in November 2026 and concluding in November 2027.
A small change, a lasting difference
At the Oak Community Project, giving is about more than money. In Denise‘s words:
‘The project helps people out sometimes during the most difficult time in their lives. I often hear people say to me “it fed me when I had no food.”’ Denise
‘There’s hopelessness in a lot of people around here. Some days you can see it on people’s faces and we don’t want that – God doesn’t want that. He wants us to be salt and light.
Over the years, lots of people from the project have come to faith. I was standing at our recent AGM reporting on the project and as I looked out, I could see perhaps 8 or 9 people who had come through the project and were now Christians.
That might not sound many but that’s huge in an area such as this. Because people, ordinary people like me, are sharing the Gospel with them. When people ask how do you put up with that? I have the confidence to tell them about my faith.’
A contactless machine is one small part of that work, but it has helped generosity go further. And as people receive support and begin giving back themselves, that generosity continues to ripple through the community.
Find out more
Discover practical resources to help your church make giving easier and support its ministry in the community. The guide, How to get started with digital giving, includes step-by-step advice on contactless giving, as well as information on available support.
You can read more inspiring stories of generous giving and their impact on local communities on the Generous Church blog.
Photo credit: Darren Robinson
