United Methodist Church in financial trouble after mass exits, leaders say

The denomination anticipated a giving shortfall, even after massively reducing its budget, according to a recent report from the United Methodist Church’s news service. The UMC’s General Council on Finance and Administration projected that it would only receive about 84% of this year’s apportionment goals—giving that supports denomination-wide ministries outside the congregations themselves. If the projection is correct, the UMC will collect less than it did during the aftermath of the recession in 2009, according to the report.

The anticipated shortfall came after a quarter of the UMC’s American churches, which historically provided the bulk of funding, left the denomination from 2019 to 2023. Most departed for theological and doctrinal reasons, primarily over disagreements about homsexuality in the church. Although the UMC cut its 2025-2028 budget by about 40%, the denomination’s contributions still weren’t hitting the revised goals, according to United Methodist News.

The General Council on Finance and Administration at a recent meeting struggled to approve funding requests, according to United Methodist News. One denominational committee of members outside the United States asked for $625,000 to cover travel and translation costs for meetings. The meetings were needed to determine which doctrinal standards, including the UMC’s definition of marriage, should be enforced denomination-wide versus variable by region. But the council only approved about half the requested amount, according to United Methodist News.

What solutions did denominational leaders propose? One member of the financial council, John Pearce, said he planned to work with an investment group to help church agencies get better returns on their investments. A total of $860 million in agency investments earned about 6.6% in the stock market last year, he said. They could do better, he said, according to United Methodist News. Leaders were also looking for ways to save money through technology and alternative funding sources, according to the news service.

The council also adopted a spending plan that doesn’t increase salaries or add to office and housing allowances for the denomination’s 53 current bishops, according to its website.

Dig deeper: Read my article in WORLD Magazine about why so many congregations left the United Methodist Church.