The Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church is recommending that Synod 2018 approve an increase of $7 to ministry shares total. Ministry shares are monies collected from congregations for shared denominational ministries.
That brings the amount per adult member to $346.48 for the calendar year 2019. If approved, it will be the first increase since 2016. The reality is that the denomination only collects about 60 percent of the recommended amount each year from the churches.
The recommended allocation to the major ministry agencies and educational institutions remains the same. The additional money would be allocated to Congregational Ministries, which includes, among others, Faith Formation, Candidacy, Chaplaincy and Care, Pastor Church Resources, and Safe Church.
In other discussions by delegates, there seemed to be an expectation that the entire amount would go to Faith Formation for curriculum work. However, Safe Church also needs more resources.
John Bolt, Director of Finance and Operations for the CRC, said, “The $7 ministry shares increase comes with no strings attached and is not pre-designated for a particular ministry but will be allocated within Congregational Services by the leadership as needed.”
About the Author
Gayla Postma retired as news editor for The Banner in 2020.