Giving

Patricia and Ray Kaukonde join hands with Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa to celebrate the dedication of Donzwe United Methodist Church near Mudzi, Zimbabwe, in December 2024. Ray Kaukonde fulfilled his dying mother’s wish by completing construction of the church that was started in 1977 by his grandfather. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Man blesses many by fulfilling mother’s dying wish

Ray Kaukonde’s late mother’s will instructed his family to continue supporting the welfare of United Methodist pastors. He’s done that and more, including helping to build two new sanctuaries.

General Church

The Rev. Johnsie Whitfield Cogman helps collect the offering during opening worship service of the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Fla. Overall giving to denomination-wide ministries was down in 2024, compared to 2023. But the denomination’s financial leaders are hopeful that the significantly smaller budget approved at last year’s General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., will be much more in line with the denomination’s giving capacity. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Giving dips in 2024 ahead of smaller budget

Collections for United Methodist general-church ministries dropped in 2024, but financial leaders expect the denomination’s much smaller budget will better align with giving going forward.

Mission and Ministry

Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala of the Mozambique Episcopal Area has helped launch an online giving platform to fund local projects that support community health, pastor salaries, evangelism efforts and more. File photo by João Filimone Sambo, UM News.

Mozambique conferences launch online giving

United Methodists can now support local programs and economic sustainability in the country through the new Local Advance Project giving platform.

Mission and Ministry

Participants at the first national Fresh Expressions conference, an effort for church revitalization that is part of United Methodist Discipleship Ministries, compete to see who can make the structure with the highest marshmallow during the Feb. 7-9 gathering at Providence United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C. Panelists said new approaches to ministry require new approaches to funding those ministries. Photo by Jim Patterson, UM News.

Fresh expressions needed in funding, too

In a time of declining church membership and giving, the way money is collected for United Methodist ministries could use a wider net that includes grants and being more entrepreneurial, say members of the denomination involved with the Fresh Expressions movement.

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