By Jeff Pospisil, Dakotas Conference treasurer and executive director of finance and administration

In 2016, the Dakotas Conference saw the first decrease in total apportionment giving (excluding pensions and insurance) since the recession of 2001-2002. Through the years, when the budget was frozen or decreased and, even the recent change in apportionment method, giving to apportionments continued to increase until 2016. Was 2016 an anomaly? Could 2016 be the start of a new trend?  The 2018 proposed budget assumes that 2016 was an anomaly as preliminary 2017 numbers look very good. In 2009, the Lord made it clear that the health of the local church needed to be a high priority. Has the Conference been faithful to this revelation in its work and budget? Are our churches healthier today than they were ten years ago?

Photo: Jeff Pospisil presents the budget to the participants at annual conference. Dakotas Conference file photo.

In the 2018 proposed budget, there is a 1.3% increase in the apportioned budget and a 5.4% decrease in the cost to the churches for pension and insurance. Combining these two, we expect a decrease of 1.5% or $108,546. There are very few changes from 2017. Here are some highlights:

• Camping continues toward being apportionment neutral. Camping ended 2016 with an operating surplus of about $28,000. In 2016, camping had a $10,000 decrease in apportionments. In 2017, there is a $24,000 decrease in apportionments. In 2018, there will be another $20,000 decrease. The apportioned budget continues to provide $115,000 for maintenance of the camp facilities as well as providing fully for property and liability insurance, property taxes, and the central office staff and operations. How has camping responded to this decrease in apportionment support? Camping is focusing on: 1) providing a consistently excellent experience for campers, 2) improving on inviting people to give to and experience camp, and 3) operating in a smart and efficient manner. Churches and individuals are responding.

• Thrive fundraising has been a success.  Over $220,000 of Thrive funds are available in 2018, over and above the apportionment budget, to spend on establishing new churches ($155k), coming alongside existing churches to enter a new era of growth ($32k), and raising up and developing leaders ($33k).

• General Church apportionments continue to rise. General church apportionments are increasing by 8% in 2018. In 2016, the decrease in apportionment income (noted early) resulted in the Dakotas Conference not being able to pay general church apportionments in full. Hopefully this is an anomaly as well.

• The Board of Pensions looks to the future. The Board of Pensions has approved moving to the HealthFlex Exchange in 2019. This change will give pastors and lay staff the choice between six different HealthFlex plans, as well as options to add dental and vision coverage. The Board of Pensions is working to establish Dakota Wholeness. What is Dakota Wholeness? The Lord laid a burden on the heart of Dr. Shawn Culey to create a ministry physical, mental, and spiritual health of our pastors. The health of a pastor not only affects the pastor’s ministry, but it affects the community. The Board of Pensions believes that Dakota Wholeness and the HealthFlex Exchange complement each other very well to help provide excellent health benefits at a more affordable cost. Why the delay until 2019? The delay is because many details still need to be worked out and refined before we are ready for full implementation.

Earlier this year, someone told me that their church has an unfair advantage because their church was not giving full apportionments. This struck a chord with me because it highlighted how much work remains to be done in making sure the ministry of the Conference is affordable and aligned. It is my hope that there will be a day when people in the Dakotas gripe about a United Methodist advantage. What would it be like to have churches of other denominations or no denomination complain that it is unfair that the United Methodists have such great pastors and that their laity seem to take their “religion” a little too seriously? What would it be like to have travelling sports teams complain about their numbers being down because they can’t offer anything nearly as good an opportunity than what the people are experiencing at our churches? Hopefully this budget is bringing us one step closer to making this a reality.

Click here to view the 2018 proposed budget on pages 8-13 of the Conference Workbook.