Nashville, Tennessee – On February 20, 2024, the Boards of Directors of the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) and The Connectional Table (CT) met and finalized a budget recommendation to the General Conference of The United Methodist Church. The final recommended budget has a 2.595% base rate, which represents approximately $346 million in apportionments over the coming four years, a 42.6% reduction from the previous quadrennium representing a more than $257 million decrease.
“Although we are navigating challenging financial times, the GCFA Board, along with members of the Connectional Table and the Council of Bishops, are focused on the work before us: ministry and mission,” said Rev. Moses Kumar, General Secretary of GCFA.
CT and GCFA affirmed allocations to the apportioned funds that each entity oversees. Under the recommended budget, $78 million is expected to be allocated to the Episcopal Fund, representing a 15.2% decrease. The General Administration Fund is 27.5% lower at $26 million, including an increase to General Conference of 15.4%, or $7 million, in anticipation of a called session in 2026, and a reduction in funding allocated to GCFA of 59.1%. Total allocations to the funds overseen by The Connectional Table include a 49% reduction in funding, at $238 in million total.
Chief Connectional Ministries Officer Judi Kenaston said, “We are grateful for the collaborative work of the CT and GCFA as we journey through this new financial reality. With great sacrifice, our general agencies, like our local churches and annual conferences, continue to offer creative leadership, programming, and mission with just five loaves and two fish.”
“I am thankful for the work done by these two bodies, though it was a long and cumbersome process,” said Roland Fernandes, General Secretary of Global Ministries. “Though these reductions will negatively impact our ability to participate in mission and ministry around the world, we will continue to serve as best as we can because it is needed more than ever in these challenging times.”
The Connectional Table works to steward the mission, vision and ministries of The United Methodist Church. For more information, please visit umcct.org.
You can see it at this release: Connectional Table General Council On Finance And Administration Boards Affirm Budget
The General Council on Finance and Administration coordinates and administers financial resources, safeguards the legal interests, and rights of the Church, and provides administrative resources to enable the fulfillment of the mission of The United Methodist Church.
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