GCFA Releases Quarterly General Church Finances; Issues Report Via Video
Nashville, Tennessee – The General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) of the United Methodist Church has released the financial updates on general Church apportionment collections through the first quarter of 2023. The report – both written and in video form - shows an increase in collection rates for the year-to-date Apportionment Collections through March 2023 compared to the same time last year. The reports can be found at www.gcfa.org/reports.
Issuing the quarterly report via video is part of GCFA's efforts to make the current state of the church finances more transparent and available to all. "We recognize the importance of transparency and accountability in financial matters. We wanted to make these quarterly videos to provide easy access to financial updates for everyone," said GCFA's General Secretary, Rev. Moses Kumar.
The Jurisdictional Apportionments collection rate is 10.3%, which is 1% higher than last year. The World Service Fund collection rate is 9.8%, which is 0.9% higher compared to 2022. The General Administration Fund collection rate is 10%, which is 1% higher compared to 2022. The Episcopal Fund collection rate is 12.9%, which is 1% higher compared to 2022. The report also looked at the Central Conference Apportionments and revealed that overall collections are down 0.3% compared to the same time in 2022.
In total, the 2023 collection rate is down 15% compared to 2017 but up 7% compared to 2022. The total 2023 apportionments allocated to the Annual Conferences are 4% less compared to 2022 and 2% less compared to 2017.
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.
UMC Support is GCFA’s ministry support services brand, offering quality ministry services to The United Methodist Connection in the areas of Communications, Copyright Consultation, Event Sponsorship Support, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Travel and Meeting Planning. UMC Support also has a vetted ministry partner program, offering discounts and savings programs to ministries in the Connection.