“10 Days of Connectional Giving”
Church of the Palms UMC in Okatie received a $30,000 grant in 2016 to help build a Christian Life Center, thanks to your apportionment giving.
Apportionment giving dedicated to Congregational Development pays for the future for new believers as well as seasoned members of United Methodist churches in South Carolina.
Rev. White
“It gives voice to the witness of our faith and our commitment to the Great Commission,” said the Rev. Sara White, director of congregational development for the S.C. Conference of the United Methodist Church. “Creating new faith communities and new ministries strengthens much more than the designated recipient community.
“The same actions that grow a new start also work within existing communities and provide models for growth.”
The money local churches pay in apportionment giving supports congregational development in three primary areas of focus:
- District 20 percent funds – Twenty cents of every apportionment dollar dedicated to congregational development returns to the district from which it came. District Committees on Congregational Development determine how this money is distributed.
- Existing church grants – Awarded annually by the Conference Committee on Congregational Development.
- New church starts – The Office of Congregational Development provides financial support to new church starts.
Clemson UMC received a $15,000 grant to help hire a director of creative ministries for a new worship service.
It also helps pay for land acquisition and operations, which, in addition to business costs, helps pay for coaching and teaching events.
Rev. White keeps this thought handy on her desk: “What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not fail?”
“I always think of this quote when I consider this work,” she said, “because I would have every person have the joy, challenge and comfort of a local faith community.”
Here’s a quick look at where your apportionment giving dedicated to congregational development went in 2016:
Grants to existing churches
The Conference Committee on Congregational Development awarded a total of $117,032 in grants to the following existing churches in 2016:
- Clemson UMC (Anderson District) – $15,000 to hire director of creative ministries for new worship service.
- North Charleston UMC (Charleston District) – $20,000 to help pay for building renovations needed for new worship service.
- Bethel UMC-Pelion (Orangeburg District) – $28,032 to help pay for construction of Ministry Outreach Center.
- St. John’s UMC-Fort Mill (Rock Hill District) – $15,000 to help pay benefits for new children’s director.
- Church of the Palms UMC (Walterboro District) – $30,000 to help pay for construction of Christian Life Center.
- St. Stephen UMC (Walterboro District) – $9,000 to help pay for tree removal and pruning.
Grace UMC in North Augusta received financial support to help expand its ministry area.
Projects/new church starts
The Office of Congregational Development provided financial support to the following projects/new church starts in 2016:
New starts
- ChristWalkers UMC (Rock Hill District)
- Waters Edge UMC (Walterboro District)
- St. Andrew By The Sea-Bluffton Campus (Walterboro District)
- South Main Chapel & Mercy Center (Anderson District)
- Open Hearts UMC (Orangeburg District)
- North Strand UMC (Marion District)
Missional
- Rocky Swamp UMC (Orangeburg District)
- Spartanburg Urban Ministries (Spartanburg District)
Projects
- Emmanuel UMC-Anderson (Anderson District) – Revitalization of existing church
- Grace UMC-North Augusta (Greenwood District) – Ministry area expansion
- Faith UMC-Lexington (Columbia District) – Revitalization of existing church
- Vaucluse UMC (Greenwood District) – Revitalization of existing church
- Faith UMC-Greer (Greenville District) – Hispanic ministry / revitalization of existing church
- Ridgeville Charge (Walterboro District) – Ministry area expansion
- Ninety Six Charge (Greenwood District) – Revitalization of existing church
- Conference Hispanic Convener
Congregational Development also sponsors the Leadership Discernment Academy, which takes each class through a series of training events over two years. Scholarships for coaching have been provided to pastors and churches seeking help in moving forward.
“God does promise that the church will ‘endure until the end of time,’ ” Rev. White said. “So we really can’t fail – unless we choose to just stop and allow someone else to take up the journey.”
Over “10 Days of Connectional Giving” – leading up to the Jan. 10 deadline for churches to pay their 2016 apportionments to the conference treasurer – we are sharing short stories to remind you what your church’s annual contributions mean to your fellow United Methodists and to those whose lives are touched by their efforts.
We hope this will encourage your congregation’s leaders to make sure they have submitted your church’s 2016 apportionments so the good work of all of the conference’s ministries can continue.
And to those churches that already have given 100 percent of their apportionments:
