At the general or churchwide level, United Methodists support ministry in three ways.
- Apportioned funds: A portion of each local church budget
- Special Sundays with offerings
- Designated giving
Apportioned Funds
The main way we support the ministries of the church is through our apportioned funds, a method of giving that proportionally allocates the churchwide budget to conferences and local churches.
For United Methodists this method of giving has become a strong, generous tradition.
Together, through our connected congregations, we accomplish what no single church, district or annual conference ever could hope to do alone. In this way, each individual, each family, each congregation gives a fair share for the church's work. We combine our prayers, presence, gifts and service to make a significant difference in the lives of God's people.
The general funds include World Service, Africa University, Black College, Episcopal, General Administration, Interdenominational Cooperation and Ministerial Education.
Get more information about these funds
Special Sundays
The United Methodist Church designates a number of Sundays throughout the year as opportunities for recognizing and supporting particular ministries. These are referred to as Special Sundays and most include an offering used to fund the work of these programs. Special Sundays fall into three different categories:
- Churchwide Special Sundays with offerings:
General Conference, the legislative body of the church, has set aside these six Sundays for churchwide emphasis: Human Relations Day, One Great Hour of Sharing, Native American Ministries Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, World Communion Sunday and United Methodist Student Day. Your support is critical to these important ministries that share God's gifts around the world. More
- Special Sundays approved for Annual Conference offerings: Four Special Sundays—Christian Education, Golden Cross, Rural Life, and Disability Awareness—are observed on dates determined by the annual conference, and the offerings are used for ministries within the annual conference. More
- Special Sundays without offerings: These Sundays—Heritage Sunday, Laity Sunday, Organ and Tissue Donor Sunday, Men's Ministry Sunday—are designated by the General Conference to focus attention on a specific aspect of the church's ministry; no special offering is taken. More
Designated Giving
In addition to supporting conference and general church apportionments, each of us has the opportunity to make gifts to specific ministries. One-hundred percent of your gifts to these designated giving opportunities go to the selected project. No administrative costs are deducted.
This is often referred to as “second-mile giving” because, in The United Methodist Church, the “first mile” is for local churches to fulfill their World Service and other apportioned funds and conference benevolence commitments.
Opportunities for second-mile giving include:
The Advance: The Advance for Christ and His Church is an official United Methodist program for voluntary financial giving. Through the Advance, United Methodist individuals and groups support specific, approved mission programs or personnel with their financial gifts. More
Emergency Response
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the not-for-profit humanitarian agency of The United Methodist Church. Founded in 1940, UMCOR's mission is to alleviate human suffering—whether caused by war, conflict or natural disaster—with open minds and hearts to all people. More
World Service Specials
Through World Service Special Gifts, local churches and individuals may contribute to approved projects of World Service agencies that do not receive Advance funding. More
Special appeals
Most disaster relief work and funding takes place through ongoing ministry. UMCOR enters into a disaster at the request of the resident bishop or church partner. The request may be for financial or material resources, technical assistance, volunteers or any combination of resources.
Sometimes, however, typical methods of disaster response financing are inadequate. In these situations, special area/conference emergency appeals are issued. A churchwide appeal may be issued. This is the only situation in which UMCOR can address the issues of church property in disasters.
Since 1992, several churchwide appeals have been launched. These include 1992 Hurricane Andrew, 1993 Midwest Floods, 1995 Appeal and Campaign for Africa, 1997 Upper Midwest Floods, 1998 Hurricanes (hurricanes Mitch and George) and 1999 Hurricane Floyd.
The Katrina Church Recovery Appeal (# 818-001) was initiated in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Find out how this appeal is helping to restore mission and ministry in storm-damaged areas, and how you can support these efforts. More
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