In exercising responsible stewardship within their local churches, pastors and lay people have the right to expect the church boards, agencies and educational institutions which are the beneficiaries of our giving to likewise exercise responsible stewardship. Thus you might find reason to be dismayed with the items mentioned below, which are extracted from the 1996 United Methodist Treasurer's Report. High levels of net assets raise serious questions about the stewardship practices of United Methodist general agencies.
Stewardship entails more than the safeguarding of net assets.
It also concerns the best use of such assets. It is natural to question whether the accumulation of excessive net assets does not come at the expense of current investment in the mission of the Church. Unless the maintenance of high net asset levels compared to annual revenues are pursuant to explicit future needs, many within the Church will conclude that the wealth of the agencies is the goal. It is difficult to support good faith appeals to local churches to pay World Service and other apportionments when the agencies are perceived to be more wealthy than the churches. Furthermore, it is misleading to promote apportionment giving as missional when substantial amounts of revenue are being retained in marketable securities, employee loans, and other investments at the agencies.