For Further Information
Feel free to call any member of the Budget and Finance Committee with questions or for further information on per capita and general mission giving. Members of the committee can be found by first navigating to the following web address:
http://www.minnesotavalleys.org
Click on the “Committees” tab, then on the drop down list click on the Budget and Finance committee.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) also has additional information about per capita and the five annual denomination-wide offerings at the following web addresses:
http://www.pcusa.org/percapita
http://www.pcusa.org/specialofferings
Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
4055 Abbott Drive
Willmar, MN 56201
(320) 235-7910
http://www.minnesotavalleys.org
Per Capita and General Mission Giving: Some Helpful Information
Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys
Budget and Finance Committee
The general mission of the church is funded from two sources, per capita and general mission giving.
Per Capita Dollars
Make a Big Difference
Per capita dollars provide essential financial resources for the government of our denomination, The Presbyterian Church (USA). When you write out your check for per capita, you are helping to fund the work of our presbytery and the entire denomination. Per capita funds conferences for Committees on Preparation for Ministry, helping inquirers and candidates discern their calls to ministry. Funds are also used to pay for the administration and evaluation of our denomination’s ordination exams. Per capita dollars help fund the preservation of church records and history at the Presbyterian Historical Society. The two books making up our constitution, The Book of Confessions and The Book of Order, are published with per capita dollars.
Per capita also funds the continuing work and mission of the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys. In fact, 63% of per capita dollars stay in the presbytery to fund its important mission work, including the presbytery’s Congregational, Resource & Development, Occidente Partnership, Resource Center, Presbyterian Camps Clearwater Forest & Lakeshore Center at Okoboji, Iowa.
What Is Five for Five?
Five denomination-wide special offerings
are taken each year to further support
particular ministries and missions of the
Presbyterian Church (USA). They are:
· One Great Hour of Sharing
· Pentecost Offering
· Peacemaking Offering
· Christmas Joy Offering
· General Mission Giving
What Part Does
General Mission Giving Play?
General mission giving consists of discretionary offerings and pledges made to further support the ministry of Christ’s church. Individual churches provide this gift each year via a pledge form sent to every congregation. Churches that pledge an amount can choose to designate their giving for specific missions, ministries, and even individual missionaries. Alternatively, churches may choose to accept the default allocation specified on the form. If a church gives using the default allocation, 69% of that gift will remain with the presbytery to fund its missionary work; 13% submitted to our synod, the Synod of Lakes and Prairies; and 18% to the national church as administered by the General Assembly Council.
At the national level, general mission giving funds 97% of the denomination’s budget. The remaining 3% is funded by the annual per capita.