The is the final article in the series, “Whom to call for…”.
The worldwide ministries of The United Methodist Church have always been supported through apportionment giving by local churches. This approach, which traces back to the first class meetings of early Methodism, enables all churches to participate in supporting work that no one of them could do individually.
The 2024 General Conference marked many changes for The United Methodist Church. Among them were significant reductions to the level of funding for its general agencies and other denominational programs through the apportionments paid by each local congregation. The five largest general agencies (Church and Society, Discipleship Ministries, Global Ministries, Higher Education and Ministry, and United Methodist Communications) received cuts over 50% for the 2025-2028 quadrennium. All general agencies and many denominational programs experienced some level of reduction.
To accommodate these cuts, every general agency has undergone some measure of restructuring. Many have reduced staff and the services they provide. Every agency now also relies more on direct donations and planned giving contributions to their work in addition to funds received through the apportionments than it had in the past.
Here's what our general agencies and denominational programs do and how to give to support each of them.
Archives and History
The General Commission on Archives and History supports the telling and preservation of the stories of United Methodists, our predecessor denominations and early Methodism. It does so through archival preservation, physical and digital cataloging, research services, and educational support for annual conference and local church archivists and historians. As this article is published (September 2025), the denominational archives are closed for research as the staff fully inventories, re-catalogs, and digitizes more of the collection, making it more easily available across the world. Research services are projected to resume in 2026 when this project is complete. DONATE TO PROJECTS OF THE COMMISSION
Church and Society
The General Board of Church and Society is the primary social conscience voice of The United Methodist Church worldwide. Church and Society helps the church remain true to its own social teaching as embodied in the Social Principles and the Book of Resolutions, and provides multiple means to encourage and support United Methodists to take action, practically and politically, to make that teaching real. They do this through educational resources, timely issue-centered newsletters, training, internship programs and grants for peace and justice work across the connection. DONATE TO CHURCH AND SOCIETY
Communications
The General Commission on Communications, better known as United Methodist Communications, is the communications, marketing, news, and information agency of The United Methodist Church. A descendent of the former Television and Radio Commission (TRAFCO) of The Methodist Church, United Methodist Communications hosts the major websites of the denomination (https://www.umc.org for general audiences, https://www.resourceumc.org for leaders at all levels), partners with other general agencies to support their web presence (The Status and Role of Women, Archives and History, Religion and Race, and the Connectional Table), supports local church online presence through branded email services and Zoom accounts (https://www.umcchurches.org), regularly meets with and supports United Methodist communicators in annual conferences worldwide, hosts the world-wide news agency of the denomination (https://www.umnews.org), provides an online presence for chartered United Methodist congregations (Find-a-Church), promotes and resources giving to apportionments and each of the apportioned funds, the Special Sundays and the Advance, provides marketing and brand support for the denomination, coordinates communications and marketing initiatives with other general agencies and churchwide organizations, hosts the General Conference websites, and offers Ask The UMC, the United Methodist Information Service, to answer questions about The United Methodist Church via email, live chat, phone and an ever growing-set of FAQ articles (including this one!). GIVE TO UNITED METHODIST COMMUNICATIONS
Discipleship Ministries and Upper Room Ministries
Discipleship Ministries provides guidance and resources for the basic program ministries of the local church as well as conference level ministries— stewardship, worship, evangelism, accountable discipleship, lay leadership, lay servant ministries, spiritual formation for all ages, older adults ministries, camps and conferences, new church starts, congregational development and local church administration, as well as partnering with leaders across the worldwide church to create and support publication teams producing contextually appropriate and sustainable resources for their churches. Discipleship Ministries also works closely with Upper Room Ministries (a self-supporting unit) and its ecumenical programs and resources for sustaining, developing and enriching spiritual life. DONATE TO DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES / DONATE TO UPPER ROOM MINISTRIES
Finance and Administration
The General Council on Finance and Administration is one of the administrative services agencies of the denomination. It collates and maintains churchwide finance data and statistical data generated by local churches and annual conferences, oversees the administration of churchwide funds, and offers several administrative consulting services to local churches. GCFA also has created, in partnership with Vanco, a page where you can donate to a variety of specific ministries not listed elsewhere: GCFA DENOMINATIONAL GIVING PAGE
Global Ministries
Global Ministries is the umbrella for hand-ons mission in The United Methodist Church “from everywhere, to everywhere.” It trains and deploys 200 missionaries to 60 countries. These missionaries engage in evangelism, church planting, healthcare, economic development, and community capacity building in the US and around the world. It coordinates with annual conference leaders to provide training and coordination of disaster response teams when disasters strike and raises funds to send both through them and through trusted partners worldwide where no United Methodists are present through the work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). It also manages donations to the Ministry Plans for Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Korean Americans, and other Asian Americans, as well as for the United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Ministries. You and your congregation can partner with individual missionaries, support specific projects, or simply help fund the work of the agency and/or the more specialized work of UMCOR in the United States or worldwide. This page provides guidance on how you can give. This is where you can select what to give to: DONATE TO GLOBAL MINISTRIES
Higher Education and Ministry
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry resources those who prepare and certify the people of The United Methodist Church for professional life in the church and the world. It administers scholarships, develops higher education partnerships and institutions worldwide, houses the University Senate which accredits United Methodist related seminaries and maintains relationships with United Methodist related colleges and universities, administers and distributes scholarship funds for students worldwide, undergirds the works of Historically Black United Methodist colleges and universities, consults with and provides training for boards of ordained ministry, endorses chaplains for military and civilian institutions, and connects and supports United Methodist campus ministries, among other initiatives. Because education is intimately linked with effective mission everywhere, it collaborates intensively with Global Ministries, including sharing a general secretary and other administrative roles. DONATE TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND MINISTRY
Religion and Race
The General Commission on Religion and Race was created to help The United Methodist Church dismantle the racism in its institutions, many of which were previously racially segregated, and equip United Methodists to become free of their own prejudices and join hands to dismantle racism and related forms of systemic injustice everywhere. It continues this work by “championing diversity, equity and inclusion” through in person and online training in interculturally competent leadership, resource development, and guidance around such issues as immigration, poverty, nationalism, tribal conflicts, gender discrimination, homophobia, disability and generational bias. It also partners with the Disability Ministries Committee, the United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministries, and El Plan for Hipanic/Latine Ministry. While its offices share space in The United Methodist Building with Church and Society, the focus of its work is distinct. Church and Society focuses primarily on teaching the Social Principles and the Book of Resolutions and on influencing public policy. Religion and Race focuses primarily on ground-level training and action that changes local churches, the denomination and the communities around us. DONATE TO RELIGION AND RACE
The Status and Role of Women
The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women was created to challenge and support the denomination to ensure women and girls are full and equal partners and participants in the life of the church. They conduct research into the progress of women in achieving full equality, monitor to document whose voices are being heard and whose are not, create resources for local churches, support the work of annual conference commissions on the status and role of women, and, through their UM Sexual Ethics office, provide guidance and assistance to help people navigate the official complaint process to address instances of sexual harassment or abuse. DONATE TO SUPPORT THE STATUS AND ROLE OF WOMEN
United Methodist Men
The General Commission on United Methodist Men (better known as United Methodist Men) equips and supports discipleship ministries with men and scouting ministries for children and youth. DONATE TO UNITED METHODIST MEN
United Methodist Publishing House
The United Methodist Publishing House is the heir of John Wesley’s publishing enterprises in early Methodism. From its beginnings, it has equipped Methodist individuals, societies, small groups, ministries, congregations, annual conferences, the General Conference and the denomination more widely with the print (and now also digital and streaming) resources it has needed for its work of teaching, worship, preaching, congregational development, and outreach, including the production and distribution of the official resources of the denomination. The United Methodist Publishing House is not supported by donations through the church, but rather through sales and subscriptions to the resources it produces and makes available through its websites, including Cokesbury.com, Ministry Matters, UMOfficialResources.com and Amplify Media. Proceeds from the sales above production costs support the retirement programs of United Methodist clergy.
United Women in Faith
United Women in Faith is the descendent of women’s missionary societies of predecessor denominations in the nineteenth century, and remains a primary supporter of United Methodist mission efforts worldwide. It develops women as leaders and empowers women in ministries of all kinds in and beyond The United Methodist Church. United Women in Faith is also the training and endorsing body for United Methodist deaconesses and home missioners. While the organization is self-supporting, it promotes giving to advance United Methodist mission work and its own educational and leadership development work. DONATE TO UNITED WOMEN IN FAITH
Wespath
The General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits, known as Wespath, manages retirement funds and health insurance plans for United Methodist clergy and lay employees in the United States, pension funds for clergy in the Central Conferences, the pension and retirement funds of African Methodist Episcopal Church, and through a non-profit subsidiary, investment funds for a variety of other faith-based non-profit organizations. Like the United Methodist Publishing House, Wespath is self-funded through the participation of its clients and investors, managing nearly $26 billion in assets as of December 2024. It also continues to promote and receive donations to underwrite pension benefits for clergy in the central conferences. DONATE TO CENTRAL CONFERENCE CLERGY PENSIONS
Burton Edwards is lead for Ask The UMC, the informaiton service of United Methodist Communications.
