The proposed four-year budget for The United Methodist Church represents the largest funding reduction in the denomination’s history.
Delegates to the denomination’s legislative assembly, the General Conference, will be asked to adopt a budget for 2025-2028 when they meet April 23-May 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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The budget adopted by the previous regular session of the General Conference in 2016 was $604.03 million, a 0.2% increase over the previous quadrennial budget. The General Council on Finance and Administration had proposed a slight decrease for the 2017-2020 period, but several proposals adopted from the floor increased the final approved total. After the 2020 General Conference was postponed, the Judicial Council — the denomination’s top court — ruled that the budget would stay the same until General Conference approved a new one.
The proposed 2025-2028 budget of approximately $346.7 million is a reduction of nearly 43% from the previously adopted budget. The budget figures described here are based on the results of the most recent meeting of General Council on Finance and Administration with the Connectional Table in February. Ultimately, General Conference delegates will decide on the budget passed.
A major driver has been the unusually high number of closures of local congregations in the United States since 2019.
Of the 1,967 local churches that closed for reasons other than disaffiliation, 1,491 were listed as “discontinued.” Churches are discontinued when, for whatever reason, it becomes clear they can no longer continue to function as local churches. The numbers also included 237 closed specifically for financial reasons, 182 closed because of church mergers, 56 abandoned, and one that was no longer part of an ecumenical shared ministry.
These losses have substantially reduced the giving power of United Methodists in the United States. American United Methodists are the sole contributors to five of the seven denominational funds. Central conferences, which will soon likely comprise the majority of United Methodists worldwide, were expected to contribute less than 4% to the Episcopal Fund and the General Administration Fund. This meant United Methodists in the United States were expected to fund about 99.1% of the denominational budget during the previous quadrennium.
We may not see losses in U.S. churches in the coming four-year period on the scale of the preceding one, but the substantial revenue losses from church closures will likely have a long-term impact.
Each general agency and ministry funded through the denominational budget is actively planning how to diversify revenue streams, realign and refocus its core work, and determine what it will no longer do during the coming quadrennium. Some administrative services, such as websites and databases, are already being consolidated onto shared platforms in an effort spearheaded by United Methodist Communications. Two major general agencies, Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry, are experimenting with sharing a single general secretary. And several proposals are going to General Conference to change the formula for determining the number of bishops within a jurisdiction, as well as proposals to eliminate jurisdictions and their associated costs entirely.
While projected general agency finances will grow far tighter, the mood among denominational leaders is generally upbeat. They see the innovation and revisioning this new situation will require as a challenge that can be met when United Methodists are focused on what it takes to accomplish their common mission: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
excerpt from a story by Burton Edwards, director, Ask The UMC, the information service of United Methodist Communications.
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