Resource D: What
is Designated Mission Giving?
The concept of Designated Mission Giving
may be one of the most confusing aspects of our funding system today. It is
also growing and may be an important future trend. I am describing here
Designated Mission Giving that is sent to our Presbytery. All of our
congregations have expressions of specific, designated mission giving, which
are not sent through our Presbytery office, and for which we have no record.
When you support a local family with their electric bill/ rent, or send a
contribution to your volunteer fire department or the Red Cross, you are making
a designated mission gift; a gift designated to a specific purpose.
·
Presbyterian Designated Mission Giving is
mission giving your session sends to the Presbytery for distribution to a
specific mission cause or purpose. Within our Presbytery this is a huge number
and includes gifts to Krislund, Lend a Hand, specific Presbyterian
missionaries, and many other specific mission causes.
·
The Presbytery receives no benefit from your
Designated Mission Giving. This is simply a service we provide to you as an
easy way to make gifts to particular mission causes or agencies.
·
With that said, there is an important new
expression of Designated Mission Giving, which is growing in our Presbytery.
There are congregations that make a Designated Mission Gift to the Presbytery. In other words, the
Presbytery itself is the mission that these congregations specifically want to
support. This kind of Designated Mission giving to the Presbytery supports the
general operating Budget of the Presbytery. The Presbytery itself is the
designated recipient of the gift.
·
This concept of Designated Mission Giving to the
Presbytery is typically used by sessions that decide NOT to participate in the
Shared Mission Giving system.
Questions for prayer, pondering and
discussion:
- Do you understand the concept of Designated Mission Giving to the Presbytery?
- Do you understand the difference between Designated Mission Giving and Shared Mission Giving?
- Will your congregation participate in Shared Mission Giving?
- Will your congregation participate in Designated Mission Giving to the Presbytery?
- How are these decisions discussed and made?
