Have you ever planned a wedding in two weeks? My daughter and her fiancé decided to tie the knot just days before he deployed. Suddenly we were faced with a multitude of tasks: contacting the pastor, reserving the church, finding musicians, hiring a photographer, outfitting the couple and their attendants, decorating the sanctuary, planning the reception—and the list goes on.
The wedding was beautiful—not because one person singlehandedly did everything, but because a lot of people pitched in to help.
That’s how the World Service Fund works. The World Service Fund, notes Los Angeles Area Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, “defines our church. It is the way we connect together. It is the way we become powerful. Together we can do great things in the name of Jesus Christ!”
The World Service Fund apportionment is the heart of our United Methodist presence, enabling Christian mission and ministry around the world. We benefit from it, and we share God’s love through it.
Through the World Service Fund, a vast variety of ministries happen—age-level programs, camps and retreats, Christian education, colleges and universities, media, ecumenical cooperation, global mission, leadership training, peace and justice, stewardship, worship and much, much more. When we pay the World Service Fund 100 percent, our gifts—combined with those of other United Methodists—represent the heart, hands and hope of Jesus Christ.
“And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, . . . They . . . pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.”
--Acts 2:44-45, The Message
