Reimagining Church: Making Room for Belief
In this column, Rev. Christian Coon reflects on the importance of making space in the church for both doubt and belief. Drawing on the idea that the Holy Spirit is actively at work am…
Posted: July 8 2024 at 12:30 AM
Author: Rev. Victoria Rebeck, NIC Director of Communications
Without debate, this year’s NIC session members passed a 2025 budget of $4,630,098. It represents an increase of $243,254 over the 2024 budget.
This year’s (2024) budget is lower than the 2023 budget.
Rev. Linny Hartzel and Rev. Scort Christy answer questions from members about the conference budget.
“The increase of 5.25 percent from 2024 is an increase in every area of the budget; every grouping was increased,” explained Elaine Moy, conference treasurer and director of administrative services. “There was not a single large expense. All areas went up.”
Last year, Northern Illinois churches shared 77 percent of what was needed to support the conference budget, which their conference voting members passed. One-third of churches remitted less than 50 percent of their apportionment, another third remitted between 51 and 75 percent, and the other third paid between 76 and 100 percent.
We are asking churches to pay as much as they can of their apportionments,” Ms. Moy said. “The members who approved the budget include the members of the local churches who valued the missional and outreach programs. We hope the annual conference members return to their local churches to share what they have learned and to support the annual conference budget.”
In the coming year, an apportionment task force will reexamine the current apportionment formula.