Ripples of Impact
Friends,
We have talked a lot about University’s capacity to influence and impact our community and our connection. We are getting early returns on how that is already happening. Many of you will recall that we have restructured our budget to insure that we meet our connectional commitments—what Methodists call apportionments. It is something like our collective tithe: a 10% investment in mission and ministry beyond our local community. Apportionments make possible efforts like the United Methodist Commission on Relief (check out UMCOR.org to learn more about this amazing part of our church). When there is tragedy or suffering in the world you can count on UMCOR responding. Because the overhead is covered by apportionments when people give towards relief efforts through UMCOR, 100% of their giving goes to the people in need.
One of our members is on the Finance Table (committee) for our Conference, and he came to see me after their first-quarter meeting. He wanted to relay that Conference collections were up compared to previous years and that the committee chair recognized that this was a result of one district (ours) and one church (ours) doing so well paying apportionments this year. That is just the surface of the impact God can achieve in and through the people of University as we unite together and answer God’s call.
I was so encouraged, and I hope you are too that it hasn’t taken long for the ripples of University’s impact to be felt by our connection.
Thank you for your generosity to University and its mission and for the great honor of serving alongside you as a pastor.
Blessings,
Ben