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The World Service Fund truly demonstrates the Mission of the United Methodist Church by:
• Supporting specific local church work with children, youth, students, persons who are mentally and physically challenged, adults and older persons;
• Providing leadership and coordination for denominational ministry with youth;
• Continuing nearly 200 years of commitment to quality college and graduate education;
• Certifying United Methodist professional Christian educators, communicators and musicians;
• Assuring United Methodists speak and work to help encourage a more ethical, just and human world;
• Continuing a proud tradition of cooperation and dialogue with other faith traditions through interdenominational and ecumenical work;
• Giving our denomination a presence in the mass media and making new communications technologies accessible to the church.
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The World Service Fund connects your church to a long list of Christian mission and ministry throughout the denomination in the work of the general church boards and agencies and other national and international programs. The World Service Fund is the essential core of United Methodist outreach. It empowers United Methodist evangelistic efforts, stimulate Bible study and spiritual commitment, encourage church growth and discipleship, and help God's children everywhere.
World Service Fund PowerPoint Presentation
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Success Stories:
Churches pay apportionments for 2010 in January
Several Missouri Conference churches have already paid their apportionments in full for 2010. The following churches had paid 100% of their apportionments for 2010 by the end of January.
They are:
- Gateway Regional District: Caledonia, Bismark, Herculaneum, Champion City, Doe Run
- Heartland Central District: Belvidere (Grandview), Atherton
- Heartland North District: Grand Pass, Oakland (Buckner)
- Heartland South District: Montrose, Norris (Chilhowee), Lucas (Ulrich).
- Mark Twain District: Grace (Madison), St. Francisvile
- Mid-State District: Otterbein (Fulton), New Hope (Moberly), Smith Chapel (Rocheport)
- Ozark North District: Cross Timbers, Bear Creek (Osceola), Yeakley, Sleeper
- Pony Express District: Burlington Junction, Mt. Olive (Chillicothe), Maysville, Ebenezer (St.Joseph), Culbertson Chapel (Stewartsville)
- Southeast District: Fairview (Millersville), Deering
- Southwest District: New Liberty (Monett), New Hope (Joplin), Patten Chapel (Lawrence), Miller (Lawrence)
Second-mile giving tops $1.4 million in 2009
Illinois Great River conference congregations, in addition to paying 90 percent of apportionments to fund ministries and administrative functions, gave more than than $1.4 million to 368 different ministries.
Total giving of $1,419,056 for 2009 includes Special Sunday offerings, Golden Cross agencies, the Liberia initiative, special appeals and any other remittances to the Conference for various designated causes.
Leader offers 10 practical steps to effective year-round stewardship
The Southwest Texas Conference Commission on Stewardship recently developed ten practical steps to year-round stewardship. The hope behind these suggestions is to assist congregational lay and clergy leadership in visibly modeling faithful Christian stewardship as a way of life. Regular testimonies and seasonal giving can turn autumn from a season of stress to the time of thanksgiving that it is intended to be.
Ten Practical Steps to Year-Round Giving:
1. Weekly mention of giving stories to tell how lives are changed because of giving through the offering plate.
2. Worship leaders talk directly about the spiritual discipline of tithing and presentation of offerings when calling for the offering during worship services.
3. Pastors preach on giving at times other than during the fall, e.g., plan sermons about giving in January, April and August.
4. Emphasize the opportunity and joy that is a part of faithful giving in newsletters and worship services.
5. Plan specific testimonies by lay people, including youth, about prayer, presence, gifts, service and witness at least once each month.
6. In taking an offering in worship, be specific about a ministry enabled and follow up with an update on that ministry.
7. Intentionally interpret, verbally and visually, how United Methodist apportionments extend the ministry of the congregation around the world.
8. Put faces on the lives that are changed through apportionment and congregational giving.
9. Seek creative ways to remit apportionments on some regular or periodic basis throughout the year.
10. Promote special offering opportunities in creative ways for several weeks during Lent, Eastertide or Pentecost.
---By Byrd Bonner, Chair Commission on Stewardship
Southwest Texas Conference
The
World Service Fund supports the work of the following Boards and Agencies. Each agency’s work and mission is grounded in the Four Areas of Focus:
- Developing Principled Christian Leaders for the Church and the World
- Creating New Places for New People and Renewing Existing Congregations
- Engaging in Ministry with the Poor
- Stamping out Killer Diseases of Poverty by improving Health Globally
General Commission on Archives and History
General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns
General Board of Church and Society
United Methodist Communications
General Board of Discipleship
General Council on Finance and Administration
General Board of Global Ministries
General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
General Board of Pension and Health Benefits
General Commission on Religion and Race
General Commission on the Status and Role of Women
General Commission on United Methodist Men
More Giving and Stewardship Resources and Information.
Center for Christian Stewardship/The UMC
