18 U.S. conferences and 10 areas outside U.S. pay 100% of their contribution to UMC funds
2/14/2020 - Ministries
Courtesy of UMNS
Eighteen annual conferences in the U.S. and ten episcopal areas outside the U.S. paid 100% of their general Church apportionments for 2019, according a newly released report from the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA). The collection rate in 2019 was 84.8%, down from 90.02% in 2018.
The 18 U.S. conferences who paid their appointments in full are:
Alaska Missionary
Baltimore-Washington
California-Nevada
East Ohio
Greater New Jersey
Illinois Great Rivers
Iowa
New England
New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma Indian Missionary
Oregon-Idaho
Pacific Northwest
Red Bird Missionary
Susquehanna
Tennessee
Upper New York
West Virginia.
The 10 central conference episcopal areas who paid their apportionments in full are:
Central and Southern Europe
Central Congo
Davao (Philippines)
East Congo
Eastern Angola
Eurasia
Germany
Liberia
Mozambique
Nordic-Baltic.
In 2018, eight central conference episcopal areas paid 100% and twenty-six jurisdictional conferences paid 100%.
(BELOW IS THE FULL PRESS RELEASE FROM GCFA)
Eighteen Jurisdictional Conferences and Ten Central Conference Areas Pay 100% of 2019 Apportionments
Most Recent Membership Statistics Are Now Available
Nashville, TN – The General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) reports that eighteen jurisdictional conferences and ten central conference Episcopal areas paid 100% of the general Church apportionments for 2019.
The jurisdictional conferences are: Alaska Missionary, Baltimore-Washington, California-Nevada, East Ohio, Greater New Jersey, Illinois Great Rivers, Iowa, New England, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma Indian Missionary, Oregon-Idaho, Pacific Northwest, Red Bird Missionary, Susquehanna, Tennessee, Upper New York, and West Virginia.
The central conference Episcopal areas are: Central and Southern Europe, Central Congo, Davao, East Congo, Eastern Angola, Eurasia, Germany, Liberia, Mozambique, and Nordic-Baltic. In 2018, eight Central Conference Episcopal areas paid 100% and twenty-six jurisdictional conferences paid 100%.
“In February of 2019, we widely shared that if there was no improvement in giving from what we were experiencing, by the end of February 2019, the collection rate would be approximately 70% and many ministries of the connectional Church would be adversely affected,” said Moses Kumar, General Secretary of GCFA. “We are grateful to God and celebrate with the conferences and Episcopal areas that have paid 100% of the general Church apportionments and bringing the collection rate to 84.8% for 2019. The collection rate was 90.02% for 2018. Because of their faithfulness, ministry throughout the world continues. It was no small task to reach these milestones and I am certain the beneficiaries of this giving – our colleges and universities, our missionaries, our ministries to local churches – will benefit greatly from this fruitful giving. Thank you.”
The GCFA Data Services Department has posted the most recent church membership statistics on the Service’s website, www.umdata.org. Information on membership and worship attendance by annual conference and other criteria can be found on the site. Most notably while membership trends continue slightly downward for the United States, membership in central conferences has increased. In the US, membership growth has increased for Hispanic and multi-racial/blended congregations. Part of the U.S. membership decline can be attributed to an aging population.
GCFA also released the tentative 2021 general Church apportionment schedule to annual conference treasurers on January 31. Acknowledging that decisions made by the General Conference may affect the currently proposed budget and the apportionments to annual conferences, GCFA projects a 15.79% reduction.
### https://www.gcfa.org/news/2020/february/2019-connectional-giving-and-membership-stats-available/
