Despite financial challenges, United Methodists in Michigan are claiming a new season of ministry that is before them through creativity and renewed mission.
JAMES DEATON
Content Editor
Editor’s note: This is the final article of a three-part series that seeks to raise awareness about the critical role Ministry Shares play in our ministry together as United Methodists in Michigan and around the world. Part one focused on where we are today. Part two examined the factors that led to the current situation. Finally, part three explores the optimism felt by United Methodists in Michigan and the opportunities for mission and ministry.
The Michigan Conference is deeply grateful for the financial support local churches have given through Ministry Shares and envisions even greater generosity stemming from our identity as United Methodists.
Last week, the Council of Bishops announced a new vision statement for the denomination, in partnership with the Connectional Table, a churchwide body that articulates the church’s vision and the stewardship of its ministries and resources.
The vision proclaims: “The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.” Watch this video to learn more.
As noted in the announcement, The United Methodist Church is stepping in faith into a new season of ministry. The people and churches within the Michigan Conference are invited into this as well, and ways to engage in this new vision will be shared in the coming weeks.
The new vision comes one year following the historic 2020/2024 General Conference, where major legislation was passed that set the denomination on a new path and began efforts at restructuring the denomination to reflect the realities of a reduced budget. Click to learn more.
The Michigan Conference faces its own budget concerns as reflected in a proposed budget for 2026 that is smaller than 2025’s budget and the recently announced reduction in the number of superintendents to care for districts, beginning July 1, 2025.
Despite the structural changes at all levels of The United Methodist Church and the financial challenges that persist, there is a growing sense among United Methodists in Michigan of trusting God to lay claim to a new season of ministry that is before us. As illustrated in the last article of this series, Michigan United Methodists are beginning to reclaim their denominational heritage post-General Conference and renew their commitment to United Methodism through a variety of means, including growing their commitment to support the conference financially.
In light of all The United Methodist Church has experienced the past few decades, there’s little doubt churches are living out their mission differently today.
The COVID-19 pandemic was painful, but pivoting through it taught church leaders that technology is essential to evangelism and building community. People are continuing to seek authentic expressions of faith and community at all age levels, and when that’s not found in traditional models, new ministries are sprouting up and bringing people the love of Jesus Christ.
Read the stories of examples of Fresh Expressions here in Michigan that move the church out of the building and into places where people naturally gather. Learn about ministries that are reaching people based on what they’re passionate about or learning a new skill, such as Grand Rapids: Trinity’s Faith on the Fly ministry or Commerce UMC’s Tuesday evening basketball game for men. See churches transforming spaces to welcome community partners, such as Lansing: Sycamore Creek UMC’s new Stage One performing arts center.
Our Connexion young adult intern program and United Methodist campus ministries are other examples of outside-the-norm ministry, as they experiment in bold and creative ways, unafraid of failing and learning from what works and what doesn’t. The Seed to Harvest ministry incubator program, which comes alongside people with ideas for new ministry and supports them as they bring their ideas to fruition, is another future-focused conference ministry. Connexion, campus ministries, and Seed to Harvest are supported, in large part, thanks to Ministry Shares from local United Methodist congregations.
It’s the season for Michigan United Methodists to be creative, to “love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously,” as the new denominational vision states. Some of our United Methodist congregations have experienced a renewed focus on their mission since General Conference, and are understanding this even more. Bold local church leadership is moving them forward in renewed hope and generosity as they see the value in this ministry partnership through district, conference, and general church ministry and mission.
Here are some thoughts from four United Methodist local churches about the challenges they’ve experienced in giving and how a renewed commitment to giving Ministry Shares has energized their congregations and encouraged them to move forward in ministry.
Rockford UMC’s Turnaround Story
Jeff Seagle, chair of Rockford UMC’s Finance Committee and co-chair of the Leadership Team, highlights their turnaround story.
“Our church is located in Rockford, just outside Grand Rapids. Rockford is a population of just over 6,000 citizens. Our church membership was 412 in 2019, but just 4 years later, in 2023, membership had fallen to 240. COVID-19, denominational direction, and multiple pastoral changes had taken their toll! In 2024, our membership increased for the first time in over a decade, ending at 244, with an average in-person worship attendance of about 150.
Rockford UMC has a rich history, and after going through years of decline and challenges that just didn’t seem to end, leadership and many long-term members felt and truly believed that God wasn’t done with this local church. We persevered and committed to seeking God’s continued support. We also had a mortgage liability from a $2.2 million project completed in 2006, but now the congregation was half the size!
In 2023, a new pastor brought renewed energy and spark that provided a sense of healing and an extraordinary enthusiasm of support that brought out the best in all who served and worshiped with us. We started to reengage the congregation with new study opportunities, a renewed youth program, Wednesday night dinners and fellowship, more community outreach, and engaging worship experiences.
This renewal supported our efforts to continue and increase our Ministry Shares and ensure we addressed them with intent and purpose each year. Giving has been increasing, and we are on track to be back to 100% in 2026. We also successfully paid off our mortgage in October 2024, nearly 10 years early! The mortgage burning ceremony was a great encouragement and proof of God’s blessing on us!”
Ferndale: First UMC’s Turnaround Story
Rev. Weatherly Verhelst shares thoughts on how they’ve creatively used their assets and spaces for renewed ministry.
“We are an urban congregation located in a city that emphasizes inclusivity of all people, particularly a safe space for LGBTQIA+ persons. Our average worship attendance is 45, and our congregation reflects the inclusivity of the Ferndale / Oak Park / Detroit area, with people of many racial and cultural backgrounds.
Our financial status is mildly stressed, due to declining membership numbers, but is buoyed by wise investments through our endowment fund and careful stewardship of that endowment fund and contributions from our congregation. We are blessed to be able to rent our commercial kitchen and some other parts of the church building to nonprofits, including being able to share our building space with Congregation T’Chiyah, a Reconstructionist Judaism congregation.
We have prioritized our giving through “Noisy Sunday” offerings each month, with the proceeds from our loose change / special giving for that offering going directly to Ministry Shares. An administrative / accounting error in 2023 meant that these offerings did not make their way to our conference treasurer, which distressed our pastor and congregation. We resolved to ensure that our Noisy Sunday offerings went to the conference office each month for 2024.
Then, the Holy Spirit intervened. One of our members died in early 2024 and left a gift to the church. Our church leadership made the commitment that we would use the interest from that gift to make up any difference between the Ministry Shares request and our gifts to Ministry Shares through our budget and Noisy Sunday offerings. We used this endowment to help pay our Ministry Shares in full for 2024 and will continue to explore creative ways to honor our Ministry Shares requests in the future. The beauty of the story is that the congregation served and loved this member for years, but did not realize how much she valued the gifts of worship and community she had received until she made her wishes known after her death.”
Ishpeming: Wesley UMC’s Turnaround Story
Rev. Scott Sherrill explains how their congregation developed a matching grant program that boosted their giving.
“Wesley Church worships around 75 on any given Sunday. We are rural, located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Most members and regular attenders fall into the 60-79 age bracket, but all ages are represented. The congregation is predominantly Caucasian.
Like many congregations, Wesley Church operates on a tight budget. However, our members are deeply generous, especially when giving toward specific needs or mission projects.
In 2023, we paid 0% toward Ministry Shares, and the church was struggling with low attendance. Giving was down, but in the past year, we have experienced renewed energy and excitement. More individuals are attending, giving, and engaging in the life of the church.
But we still needed to get creative to pay our Ministry Shares. We ended up doing a matching grant system. Several years ago, the congregation received a bequest that set up an endowment earmarked for mission. The endowment team felt that part of our missional giving is Ministry Shares. They came up with a matching grant idea to inspire giving. This encouraged more generous giving as well as new givers to Ministry Shares. Fourteen families donated to have their financial gifts matched dollar for dollar by our mission endowment.
We also placed a strong emphasis on education, incorporating discussions in small groups and from the pulpit about the meaning of being a connectional church. We reminded the church that we are connected to other area United Methodist churches, our district, annual conference, and general conference.
Giving can’t be viewed or framed as an obligation. It can’t be another bill the local church has to pay. Being connected and contributing to Ministry Shares is an opportunity. It’s a blessing to be part of something bigger than our local congregation. It’s a joy to be able to help shape the church and grow new disciples for Jesus.”
Download the 2024 Annual Report for examples of how Ministry Shares are spent.
Auburn UMC’s Turnaround Story
Pastor Carmen Cook describes how their faithfulness in giving is part of their congregation’s trust in what God can do if they step out in faith and give.
“Auburn is located about 15 minutes between Midland, Saginaw, and Bay City, and is a tough choice between suburban and rural. Our church is made up of predominantly white, middle-class individuals and families. We have one German member and one Native American member. The church has seen a tremendous growth in young families and adults who are attending, and we can now say we are a mixed congregation of young, middle, and older ages.
I arrived at Auburn UMC in July 2022, and the church was in a difficult place, struggling to pay their bills on time, much less think about their Ministry Shares. When it was time to present the budget to the church in September 2022, I told them this budget is as tight as we can make it. We have cut everything there is to cut, including my package. We didn’t do a campaign drive, but here is what I believe — if we faithfully give our tithes and our offerings, then this budget will work. In other words, if you do your part, then God will do His. Furthermore, the conference cannot and should not ask of you what we aren’t willing to do ourselves. I have discovered that it has been 10+ years since the church brought their full tithe into the warehouse of the Lord and paid our Ministry Shares in full. It is our pledge that we, the church, will take 10% of the offering each week and apply it to our Ministry Shares. We will live Malachi 3.
The church has paid its Ministry Shares in full since 2023, and is on track for this year, 2025. In 2024 and again in 2025, we have given, as an offering, money to fully pay two churches that were unable to pay their district Ministry Shares. We have been able to do this because the leadership of the church, and therefore the greater body of the church, has been committed to our commitment to God, which means that sometimes we have to say no to spending money in other ways. Our tithes will always come first. And when we pay our tithes, the Lord blesses, and we are able to give an offering. Truly, the Lord has been blessing us.
Since that Sunday in 2022, we have kept our word. Before a single bill was ever paid, even payroll, we gave our tithes. People began to testify in church about how they were tithing and beginning to see God’s blessings. It hasn’t been gimmicks that have kept us faithful, it has been sound biblical teaching followed by sound biblical living.
And here is what we have seen. In 2023 and 2024, the church paid 100% of its Ministry Shares. All of our bills were paid — on time, if not early. We were able to offer payroll increases to the staff that they hadn’t had in a very long time. Ministries we were doing were funded, and new ones were developed. Missions teams were being funded for the first time ever. The church began to grow spiritually and numerically. We have added a youth pastor.”
Editor’s note: The Michigan Conference has created a web page dedicated to information about Ministry Shares. Click to see how much your congregation gave last year and where you are in giving for this year. There are also resources for leaders engaged in improving communications and education within their congregations as they work toward their goals in financial giving.
Last Updated on May 13, 2025