March 21, 2024

A GCFA report showing massive denominational reserves for The United Methodist Church calls into question the somewhat moderate reduction of the general budget being recommended by the GCFA at next month's General Conference. While it is the biggest reduction in the history of the denomination, it is also following the biggest exodus of churches the denomination has ever seen. Is this reduction sufficient to alleviate the burden on those churches left behind?

There is some decent theology of money here. We compare and contrast the culture of stewardship between the UMC and what we hope the GMC will be. Matthew speaks from experience. He worked professionally in finance before pivoting into ministry. As a minister, he worked for GCFA for a few years. Today, he is the Treasurer for the MidSouth Annual Conference of the GMC. He also serves on the GMC's Transitional Finance Committee. His mind is worth consulting. He told me many things that surprised me. For instance, I was very surprised to learn how reserves in the UMC are generally invested. There is a lot more that I don't want to write up here. You'll just have to watch it. Enjoy!

Links:
"What's New For GC 2024: Part 1" by Taylor Watson Burton Edwards - https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-whats-new-gc2024-part-1-budget
"Updated Reserves Analysis" 2018-2022 by GCFA - https://www.gcfa.org/_files/ugd/485b51_49a1e07af59d4b2e97b62c6f7bcf3b22.pdf
"Boards Push Forward Despite Budget Cuts" by Jim Patterson - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/boards-push-forward-despite-budget-cuts