wfn.org | 1999 Mission Budget Increased in Wake of Strong 1997 Reports

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17-February-1998 
98055 
 
    1999 Mission Budget Increased in 
    Wake of Strong 1997 Reports 
 
    by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-The General Assembly Council (GAC) has added $1.6 million 
to the 1999 General Assembly mission budget, with much of the funds 
earmarked for local mission in congregations, presbyteries and synods. 
 
    The decision to raise next year's mission budget to a total of $124.7 
million came Feb. 13 after Council members were told that unrestricted 
income in 1997 exceeded budget projections by $1.7 million (a 4.8 percent 
increase) and that General Assembly entities underspent their 1997 budgets 
by another $1.7 million. 
 
    The 1998 mission budget is $121.5 million and last year's General 
Assembly approved a preliminary 1999 budget totaling $123.1 million.  This 
year's Assembly will be asked to confirm the revised budget figures. 
 
    Saying it believes the additional 1999 funds should be "spread around 
the church in partnership with other governing bodies," the GAC's 
Technology and Finance Office (TAFO) Committee recommended a variety of new 
spending actions to do just that. 
 
    Chief beneficiary will be the denomination's evangelism efforts - long 
an underfunded priority - with fully one million dollars of new spending. 
A total of $500,000 was earmarked for mission program grants - direct aid 
to congregations engaged in creative local outreach programs. 
 
    Another $500,000 was tagged for racial ethnic church development and 
other evangelism with racial ethnic groups.  That money will fund an 
ambitious program approved by the 1996 General Assembly to increase racial 
ethnic membership in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from its current 4 
percent to 10 percent by the year 2005 and to 20 percent by 2010.  Specific 
plans to implement the racial ethnic church growth goals will be brought to 
the upcoming 210th General Assembly in Charlotte, N.C., June 13-20. 
 
    Other funds have been earmarked to support publication of the 
denomination's new every household publication, "Presbyterians: Being 
Faithful to Jesus Christ"; for family and men's ministries; for bilingual 
resources and programs for Taiwanese, Hispanic and other Asian 
Presbyterians; for spiritual formation resources for Presbyterian young 
adults; and to help small churches acquire or upgrade outmoded computer 
systems. 
 
            1997 also a good year for special offerings 
 
    TAFO also reported that three of the four special offerings of the 
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) increased in1997.  The Christmas Joy Offering 
rose a whopping 16.5 percent in 1997, to $5,339,776.  The offering supports 
the church's racial ethnic schools and colleges and supplementary needs of 
retired church workers.  The One Great Hour of Sharing Offering rose more 
than 8 percent, to $9,450,000 and the Peacemaking Offering rose 10.7 
percent, to $929,500. 
 
    The Pentecost Offering, which has replaced the Witness Offering, drew 
just over $12,000 in its inaugural year.  The Witness Offering, which was 
received for the last time in 1997, totaled $588,000.  Combined, the two 
offerings exceeded the total raised by the Witness Offering alone in 1996. 
 
    The GAC also approved and sent on to the General Assembly a proposed 
1999 per capita budget totaling $13.5 million, a decrease of $700,000 from 
1998.  To fund that budget, the Assembly will be asked to approve a 1999 
per capita apportionment of $4.77, the same as 1998. 
 
                         Budget woes loom 
 
    Despite the positive financial results for 1997, budget forecasters 
warned of a gathering financial storm.  Unified (unrestricted) giving 
trends continue to erode and long-range projections compiled by TAFO staff 
show unified budget deficits as early as the year 2000.  By conservative 
estimates, the unified portion of the mission budget will dip into the red 
by more than $825,000 in the year 2000, growing to more than $1.25 in 2001, 
throwing the entire mission budget, unrestriced and designated, into the 
red by $1.5 million in 2002. 
 
    The budget "cliff" is exacerbated by the "spend-down" of accumulated 
income from restricted endowments.  Faced with new national accounting 
standards for the use of endowment fund income, the GAC launched an 
aggressive plan last year to accelerate its use of accumulated income from 
endowments held for the denomination by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 
Foundation. 
 
    In 1997, for instance, new spendable income from endowments totaled 
$19.1 million, but $29.2 million was spent, leaving $45.8 million in 
spendable accumulated income still available.  The GAC's plan calls for 
that money to be spent by 2001. 
 
                           Adios, "TAFO" 
 
    TAFO is no more.  It lasted less than a year.  The Council concurred 
with a recommendation from the TAFO Committee that the office's name be 
changed to Mission Support Services.  Last year's General Assembly created 
TAFO, which formerly had been called Corporate and Administrative Services. 
 
    During the last year, structural changes within the GAC resulted in 
most non-financial responsibilities - such as human resources management, 
corporate matters and legal services - being moved from TAFO to other 
offices.  TAFO officials believe "Mission Support Services" more accurately 
describes the office's current responsibilities, which are almost entirely 
finance-related. 

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