Foundation plans new initiatives for 2022

Blessed with a strong financial performance and the faith and trust of our partners, Foundation board members approved a 2022 budget that funds a number of church-building initiatives.

Included in the budget is a 10 percent tithe of income to the WNC Conference for approximately $184,000, an expression of gratitude for the Conference’s role in our growth. The Foundation has contributed surplus dollars in the past, but this represents the first ever commitment from the general operating budget.

Among the endeavors to launch in 2022:

• A personal stewardship series called Saving Grace, created by UMC Discipleship Ministries, to help participants develop faithful practices in the areas of saving, earning and giving.
• A Hope Fund to immediately respond to churches who suffer a loss of property due to fire, flood, storm, accident, vandalism and other crisis situations.
• A loan program to help churches make minor renovations to their worship spaces to improve hospitality, accessibility, mobility, technology and energy efficiency. This is a collaboration with the WNC Conference, Wesley Community Development and Boundless Impact, a nonprofit in Greensboro that fosters inclusion and innovation.

“I’m excited about all the numbers, but I’m even more excited about the lives we touch and how we’re able, through our resources, to impact so many different ministries,” said board chair Tom Jordan.

There is also a renewed commitment to support pastors in improving their financial health. The Clergy Debt Reduction Loan Program allows a typical participant to save $350 per month by consolidating debt at an interest rate of 1.5 percent. Since 2016, the program has helped clergy refinance $4.6 million in collective debt. This is a partnership with WNCC and The Duke Endowment.

“These are ways we are giving back and truly living into our mission statement,” President David Snipes told the assembled group, “to build the Church for generations to come.”

A fire at Celia Phelps UMC helped prompt the creation of a Hope Fund to respond to churches in crisis.