Treasurer's Update
September 2007 (Third Quarter)
Great Commission Fund (GCF) Results through August 31, 2007Year-to-date revenues through August 31 total $5,466,000, or 91.3 percent of the revenue budget of $5,988,000. Year-to-date expenses have been held to 98.1 percent of the expense budget. Please pray that God would provide abundantly for His people in supporting the Great Commission Fund.
»Click Here to see the current Great Commission Fund figures.
Great Commission Sunday 2007 has raised a total of $949,337 through August 31. Twenty-five percent of this year’s Great Commission Sunday offering supported Alliance work among families impacted by AIDS, with 75 percent going to the Great Commission Fund. The Church is the answer to the AIDS epidemic, and The Alliance is responding by providing medical care, antiretroviral medicine, and hope in Jesus.
The 15 percent ministry support fee on restricted gifts went into effect June 1, 2007. For the months of June, July, and August, this fee has provided a total of $143,700 to help fund GCF ministry and ministry support needs, including missionary allowances and benefits. Missionary outfit, vehicle specials, Global Ventures and short-term ministry gifts are exempt from this fee.
Contributions for C&MA projects and missionaries should be mailed to the National Office to provide for full administrative and accounting control over the use of these funds. Contributions made directly by churches without such controls in place to C&MA fields or other foreign ministries are not tax deductible.
Do you like numbers? Well, we have a place for you! Take your pick—Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and other far off destinations. We’re looking for qualified individuals who would be willing to serve and perform external audits on the financial records of C&MA fields in any of the regions above. Below are a few basic requirements. Interested parties may contact Bill Ramirez at (719) 265-2085 or ramirezb@cmalliance.org for additional information.
External Auditor Minimum Requirements:
- College degree in accounting, finance or related field, or equivalent work experience. Previous audit experience and/or experience with QuickBooks is helpful.
- Basic understanding of accounting practices related to foreign currency and non-profit fund accounting.
- Ability to fully fund (via personal funds or through donations) a week long trip (minimum) to the field to perform an audit, including, but not limited to, the following expenses:
- Round trip airfare, related ground travel, visa and passport expenses
- Small lodging stipend paid to the field
- Meals during travel and while on the field
As a result of your requests, we are pleased to announce that the Office of Employee Benefits has implemented a new database. A significant part of this transition was to provide you (or your church) with invoices. Beginning with the April billing, our office e-mailed two distinct invoices. The first invoice summarizes total cost by plans. The second invoice is a detail by employee listing type plan enrolled as well as coverage and charges. This invoice is printed by the participant and is a good report for that participant to retain.
Due to this change, it is very important that our office receive notification of e-mail changes. If you have not received invoices from our office, it means we do not have a correct e-mail address for your church or contact person. Please e-mail our office at: cmaemployeebenefits@cmalliance.org with the correct e-mail address or you may fax it to us at (719) 262-5397.
As a reminder, there are more than 550 retirees that rely on monthly income from the Fellowship Fund. Prior to the start up of the C&MA 403(b) Retirement Plan (defined contribution plan), the denomination had created a pension plan called the Fellowship Fund (defined benefit plan). The missionaries and pastors in this pension plan represent years of dedicated service. Your church’s contribution guarantees each of these retirees income for the rest of their life. General Council has mandated churches to contribute .7 percent of their prior year’s general income until the fund is fully funded. Based on our most recent actuarial report, if all current trends continue, the fund should be fully funded by the end of 2009. In late April, you received a letter along with coupons to mail your payments. Please use these coupons when making your payments. The payment for your Fellowship Fund contributions may be included with your monthly Great Commission contribution.
Are your pastors planning for retirement? Have you considered offering them the C&MA 403(b) Retirement Plan? Benefits from choosing the C&MA plan:
- Choice of investment options
- At time of retirement, distributions to official workers may be offset by housing costs for tax purposes
- Low fixed administrative fee
- Manage account through Web access
- No fees for reallocating investments
Have you seen the latest buzz on e-Community how ADF investors are helping inner city churches, like Citywide Community Church in Chicago, Illinois, to reach their community? To read more, go to http://www.adf-inc.com/stories/email_story2.htm. ADF has various investment opportunities that do “double duty” by earning you a competitive rate of return while helping Alliance ministries as we live the Call together.
If you would like to learn more about how ADF can provide funding for your church’s building project or refinance an existing loan from another lender, call 888-878-3060 (toll free) and ask for the Church Services Group.
Thank you for serving God and your local church. Your stewardship role is essential, and I’m grateful for you!
Vice President for Operations/Treasurer
