Western Pennsylvania is one of 20 of the 59 annual conferences in the U.S. that paid 100 percent of its general church apportionments in 2013. The achievement was made possible in part because 615 of our 830 local churches contributed 100 percent or more of what they were asked to fund the Conference apportionment budget.
In Western PA, the apportionment receipts were $8.46 million -- 90.3 percent of what was asked.
Last year, United Methodists gave nearly $128.6 million to general church funds, about 89 percent of the requested apportionments. In 2012, they gave slightly more — $132.7 million to general church funds, an apportionment-collection rate of about 90 percent.
The denomination's budget for general funds is based on the assumption that 86 percent of apportionments will be collected.
Apportionments are the share each annual conference or local church pays to support international, national and regional ministry. At the general church level, the money supports bishops, United Methodist ministerial education, most general agencies and denomination-wide efforts such as the Black College Fund and Africa University in Zimbabwe.
Read more about funding for denominational ministry.
Learn more about Conference apportionments at wpaumc.org/apportionments.