The 2014 conference recommended apportioned budget is just over $6.2 million, about the same as the 2013 approved budget. The 2014 budget, if approved as recommended, will be just below our ceiling (maximum allowed by conference rules) and at the same level as our 2003 budget. With the added amount for uncollectible contingency, the total to be apportioned is almost $7 million, the same as the 2013 approved budget. The uncollectible contingency accommodates shortfalls in some churches’ payments of apportionments

The 2014 recommended budget will look quite different from recent budgets. The 2014 budget recommendation is organized around our primary work expressed in missional areas.

What does it mean to be missional? Missional means to focus on God’s preferences for Christ’s mission, not our personal or institutional preferences. It means to turn outward and engage the world with a burning desire to have a transforming impact on individuals, communities, and global systems.

The missional areas in the 2014 budget are: developing missional leaders, equipping missional congregations, extending our missional impact, generating missional resources, and aligning our work:

• Developing Missional Leaders: 23% ($1,599,301)
• Equipping Missional Congregations: 18% ($1,290,509)
• Extending Missional Impact: 27% ($1,874,978)
• Generating Missional Resources: 4% ($259,054)
• Aligning our Work–Leadership of the Annual Conference: 1% ($87,000)
• Aligning our work–Supporting the Annual Conference: 16% ($1,137,118)
• Total apportioned for missional budget: $6,247,960
• Uncollectible contingency (under direction of CFA): 11% ($750,000)
  
  Total to apportion: $6,997,960

Apportionments tell only part of the story of the missional work accomplished in and through the annual conference. When all the areas of mission and ministry of the annual conference are included, both apportioned and non-apportioned, the total is almost $16.4 million. (Detail on this amount is included in the pre-conference materials.) This does not include the generous donations for Imagine No Malaria, which reached $1.2 million by the end of 2012. Some of our activities, such as our self-funded health insurance program, voluntary group workers’ compensation policy, and youth events, are funded by premiums and fees. These activities would not be possible without the internal support systems (staff, technology, systems) funded by the apportionments. In addition, the same internal support systems allow 100 percent of donations for Imagine No Malaria, advance specials, Special Sundays, UMCOR, and many more to go directly to the cause.

Apportionments provide avenues of giving so that we can be missional in our context and connected in mission locally and around the world.

Barbara Carroll is director of finance and administration for the Minnesota Annual Conference.