Apportionment giving is based upon the desire to meet the needs of God’s family NOT just in our neighborhoods, but around the world. Apportionments are also based on our need to give in order to be spiritually healthy, complete children of God.
We send the Apportionment funds out of our blessing that Christ might be known in transformative ways. Apportionments provide avenues for giving so that we can be strong local churches & annual conferences and a strong connection throughout the world as we seek to be in mission and ministry together. The funds demonstrate our connectedness to one another, to God and to the body of Christ.
Apportionments are the way that congregations are connected to the conference and the world. Apportionments are used to fund the global mission and witness of our church, to help provide the necessary structure to respond in moments of crisis locally, nationally, internationally, and to develop and nurture the leaders we need today and tomorrow.
The basic idea behind apportionments is that local congregations send some of the money they collect to accomplish things that are either beyond their ability to do as individual congregations or that can be done more effectively or efficiently together. Apportionments allow the church to produce goods and services funded by all for the benefit of all – collective goods.
Apportionments denote an understanding that the purpose of the church is not just to care for its own members but also to reach out beyond itself to engage with the world, to minister to the world, to be in mission to the world.
Apportionments are not to be considered “special gifts,” but rather, they are similar to our tithes that we give to our local church.
Connectional Giving demonstrates our connectedness to one another, to God and to the body of Christ. The connections of the church are more than institutions; the connections are the means God uses to convey grace to the world. It is one of the founding ideas that the United Methodist Church was built upon. Participating in connectional giving helps us to be in mission with people and congregations around the world - giving every church, regardless of size, a larger mission footprint.
When we give, we have the power and potential of a scale of impact that no single church could have on its own.
Apportionments allow us to do together what no church, district, or annual conference could do alone.
With over 12 million members working in 136 countries, The United Methodist Church’s global reach is made possible through these 7 funds: World Service Fund, Episcopal Fund, Ministerial Education Fund, Black College Funds, General Administration Fund, Africa University Fund and Interdenominational Cooperation Fund.
The Advance for Christ and His Church (The Advance) is the United Methodist program for designated mission giving and serves as the leading conduit that allows churches, individuals and organizations to support missionaries and projects throughout the world in order to strengthen and sustain one another.
excerpt from a story by Anne Maria Gerhardt, Director of Communications, Northern Illinois Annual Conference
United Methodist Church Giving is about people working together to accomplish something bigger than themselves. In so doing, we effect change around the world, all in the name of Jesus Christ. To read stories about the generosity of United Methodists click here.
