Update from Finance

Update from Finance & Planning

Overview of
apportionments

By Ronald Kelly

PASADENA—With the implementation of the new financial model during the final quarter of 2004, our congregations have begun to take up the responsibility of local financial processing, budgeting and spending of funds.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone in each congregation who has been involved in this long and challenging, yet rewarding process of transforming the way our church manages its finances. With your patience and generosity, we have at last made the turn. Now we look forward with anticipation to the opportunities God has in store as we all work together to live and proclaim the grace and love of our Lord and Savior.

Below is a chart that provides an overview of the apportionments that each congregation provides to the denomination. These apportionments pay for a number of local services that assist the local congregation, as well as for several central services that not only benefit the local congregation, but all WCG congregations as a whole.

For the calendar year 2005, the Local Services Apportionment, or congregational apportionment, is 7.5 percent of donation income, and the Central Services Apportionment, or denominational apportionment, is 12.5 percent. In about 2006, the apportionments are tentatively scheduled to be reduced to 5 percent and 10 percent respectively, presuming income and expenses track according to plans.

PTM processes WCG mail in exchange for its health-care costs and use of space in the WCG facility. Otherwise, PTM operates independently of WCG funds.

Breakdown of central expenses

The largest share of central expenses goes toward our Church Administration Department. CAD is responsible for training 110 church-employed pastors and more than 200 bivocational pastors, along with member leadership teams at regional conferences.

The 12-member CAD team that will move to the new headquarters facility in Glendora includes the pastor general, the publications staff and the staff of the U.S. superintendent of ministers.

Costs of publishing Christian Odys-sey and WCG Today, of producing a variety of booklets and study aids, and of maintaining the WCG web site, along with costs associated with Ambassador College of Christian Ministries (ACCM) are part of the CAD budget, as are the salaries and expenses of the 10 U.S. district superintendents.

The Central Services apportionment also funds the work of our International Missions department. International Missions will have two full-time employees in Glendora and one editorial adviser and four mission developers in the field who supervise the work of the church in specific areas of the world. Also various national leaders report directly to International Missions.

The church also must maintain an appropriate legal department for the many legal needs of a national and international organization of our structure. The legal staff will consist of three employees in Glendora.

Finally, the Finance & Planning staff includes a manager and an assistant, four employees in accounting, one in purchasing and archives, two in human resources and eight in computer information systems. The staff of F & P, as we call it, is responsible for a multitude of financial and technical matters that relate to the smooth financial organization and functioning of our church.

In addition to all the expenses mentioned here, the denomination is responsible to pay liability insurance as well as health-care expenses and life insurance for all employees. These expenses are not paid from congregational apportionments.

Further, the two apportionment sources of income make up only about 60 percent of the funds necessary to maintain the operations of church headquarters. The rest must be made up from a variety of sources that include estate donations, contributions from members and co-workers directly to the denomination, and numerous other sources of income, such as collections of fees, employee payments for health care premiums and others.

Local Services Apportionment

(7.5 percent)

The Local Services Apportionment is made up of services and expenses that a congregation would have to provide for locally if it were not part of the denomination. Those expenses include selected kinds of insurance such as liability, workers compensation and youth activities insurance. They also include accounting services, computer services, payroll, taxation compliance, pension administration and social security payments. Greater economy and efficiency are achieved by providing these services centrally.

Central Services
Apportionment

(12.5 percent)

The Central Services Apportionment provides for the employment and expenses of the headquarters staff, which includes the Pastor General, Church Administration, International Missions, the Legal Department and Finance & Planning.

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