Online Archives

By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

In an effort to better equip local churches in uneasy economic times, congregations in the Baltimore-Washington Conference will be receiving an unexpected decrease in the amount they are requested to pay in apportionments in 2009.

The conference Council on Finance and Administration, in consultation with the Discipleship Council and other conference leaders, have decided to accelerate the reduction of the benevolence factor, which determines the amount each church pays in apportionments. This action, said CFA President Charlie Moore, is expected to result in the dollar amount many local churches pay in apportionments falling by about 10 percent.

The decrease comes as an acknowledgement of an increasingly troubled national and global financial landscape and the vital role that local congregations play in the church's mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world, Moore said.

The move was announced in an e-mail sent out to pastors Dec. 16, co-signed by Moore; the Rev. Robert Slade, chair of the Discipleship Council; and Bishop John R. Schol.

Providing this relief to local congregations will necessitate cutting the conference budget by approximately $1.8 million. The budget was set last May by conference members when they met in their annual session.

The conference members also voted, as they do each year, to allow CFA, in consultation with the bishop, to act on financial matters between sessions of the annual conference.

"The magnitude of these cuts will require us to evaluate all existing programs and staffing requirements," said Moore.

Making these cuts will not be easy, said Bishop Schol. "We will need to think differently. We will need to think in new ways. But God is going to see us through this. God wants the see the Baltimore-Washington Conference grow."

Reducing the benevolence factor has been an on-going goal of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. In 2005, the benevolence factor was at 24.8 percent. Conference members adopted the objective of reducing the benevolence factor to 19.5 percent by 2012.

This year's acceleration in the reduction is expected to empower local churches as they respond pro-actively to an ongoing financial crisis and enable them to pay 100 percent of their apportionments to enable ministry beyond the local church.

"In light of these difficult financial times, some of the clergy in our local churches are reporting that giving is down. We want to be responsive to the needs of the churches and impact them positively," said Slade, who chairs the Discipleship Council, a conference advisory group.

Conference leaders are hopeful that a decrease in the amount of apportionment payments will encourage churches to pay 100 percent of their apportionments. At the end of November, less than 89 percent of the conference churches had paid their full amount.

Apportionments are the hallmark of connectionalism, said Moore. "Many people in the pews may not fully understand the value of the connectional system. Through apportionments, United Methodists are able to support initiatives and ministries on the local, national and international level. Giving is an act of faith."

To underscore their commitment to the connectional system, conference leaders have chosen to continue to pay their full General Church apportionment to the denomination.

"While this makes up a significant portion of the conference budget, we will continue our long-standing tradition of paying 100 percent of our General Church apportionment," said Moore.

At a special session of annual conference, called to address a proposal to buy a new conference center in Howard County, members will hear a status report on the reduction in the benevolence factor and the 2009 budget.

In addition, the conference's Connectional Giving committee, led by John Derrick, will provide an update on information it has gathered on apportionments.

Neither of these reports requires conference action.

Specific details about the amount of the reduction in apportionment payments is expected to be given to each church before the end of the month.