by Joretta Perdue
United Methodist News Service United Methodists increased their giving by nearly 4 percent to the denomination's churchwide ministry during 2004, despite the loss of more than 69,000 members. The increase of almost $4.4 million to the United Methodist Church's apportioned funds marks a reversal from slight decreases in the two preceding years, noted Sandra Lackore, treasurer and head of the denomination's financial agency. The Baltimore-Washington Conference was one of 12 annual conferences in The United Methodist Church that gave 100 percent of their apportionments, the amount asked of all conferences to support churchwide ministry and administration. 'I am thankful to our congregations and their leaders for their faithful support of mission and ministry around the conference and around the world,' said Bishop John R. Schol of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. 'We have paid 100 percent as a conference for the past eight straight years and touched the lives of thousands of people. We are a leader within the denomination and it is a sign of our growing in the discipleship journey that we continue this impressive record.' The other conferences that paid 100 percent were: Wisconsin, Detroit, Illinois Great Rivers, Northern Illinois, Peninsula-Delaware, Central Pennsylvania, New York, Red Bird Missionary, Oklahoma Indian Missionary, Desert Southwest and Central Texas. 'The faithfulness of United Methodists is amazing,' Lackore said. 'We have spent far too little time as a denomination helping our members and friends connect their faith journey with their giving journey. Despite that, faithful United Methodists continue to generously support our denominational financial covenant. 'We are thankful for all those who yearly make it possible for their church to meet needs that they will never personally see. That's what keeps our connectional covenant strong,' she added. Churchwide, membership declined by 69,141 to a total of less than 8.2 million U.S. members, including clergy. This figure is based on congregational statistics collected for 2003 and reported through the annual conferences after their sessions in spring 2004. These numbers reflect a continuing decline in U.S. membership that has been ongoing for at least three decades. The giving reported here is for 2004. About 1.9 million additional members live in Europe, Asia and Africa, but those statistics are not complete because some of those conferences meet later in the year. The fastest growth in church membership is occurring in Africa. Gifts to the seven funds totaled $116.8 million in 2004, an increase of 3.9 percent. When combined with other offerings and funds, total United Methodist churchwide giving for the year was $159.3 million. Apportioned funds support the ministry and administration of the denomination through a process that asks the annual conferences for specific amounts per year. These numbers are adjusted up and down based on local church expenditures and economic factors in that area. World Service, the largest of the apportioned funds, supports the church's program ministries, including the work of most of the denomination's general agencies. In 2004, the World Service Fund received $63 million. In 2003, it had income of $60.4 million. The difference is an increase of 4.3 percent. | 
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