Your Gifts Do Great Things

TOGETHER WE JOIN JESUS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Together we grow as courageous disciples

Together we are calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.

We foster the discipleship and leadership formation of the people of God to embody and articulate their faith through relationships, resources, and events. We prepare leaders and set-apart ministers for the challenges of ministry and encourage a culture of calling. We foster relationships to understand the ministry needs of the church.

     We grow as courageous disciples by:

     Supporting district leaders and set-apart ministers for the challenges of ministry. Partnering with leaders to provide training for ministers and laity.

     Creating a space for church leaders and pastors to grow in their knowledge. Producing resources for leaders and laity as they work within their congregations.

     Offering valuable resources, curriculum, and events for Brethren to both listen and share in meaningful conversations with the larger, diverse body of Christ.

     Arranging opportunities for different age groups to nurture their faith and form a supportive network for ministry.

Together we love and serve one another

Together we are cultivating relationships and living a life of service.

We seek to strengthen faith and relationships with our partners around the world while developing a structure to encourage interdependent relationships and partnership in mission. We work with partners in the US and around the world to address food insecurity. The relationships built are long lasting and life sustaining. We create opportunities for Christ-like service that equip volunteers for relationship-based community engagement.

     We love and serve together by:

     Strengthening the development of a Global Church of the Brethren Communion that is critical future relationships and understanding global Brethren values. Exploring new mission partnerships for assistance and/or affiliation with the Church of the Brethren. Relating to partner churches through the Brethren Global Communion, which includes churches in Brazil, (unofficially) Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Rwanda, Spain, Uganda, and Venezuela.

     Preparing people of all ages to be the hands and feet of Jesus for short-term and long-term service placements in a variety of ministry and non-profit settings as they live and worship in community.

     Offering education and provision of resources to help establish food security. Building community where programs and projects are implemented.

     Walking with communities in the relief and recovery process. Revealing God’s love through caring for the vulnerable impacted by emergency, violence, or disasters both nationally and globally. Providing humanitarian relief to the most vulnerable. Training and commissioning volunteers to establish safe and healing spaces for children in a time of crisis. Encountering community when rebuilding homes.

Together we extend generosity and witness

Together we are engaging our neighbors, seeking justice, and sharing the holistic peace of Jesus Christ.

We bear witness to the peace of Christ and justice of God. We tell the current story of the church and bring members into conversation so that all may deepen their commitment. We reach out to congregations and individuals to create community and offer thanks for their generosity.

     We extend generosity and witness by:

     Growing faith through resources that help congregations and individuals deepen their faith. Telling the story of the Church of the Brethren using a range of media.

     Building relationships across lines of faith and politics to work on endeavors that support peacemaking around the world. Connecting individuals to reveal the grace of God and peace of Christ.

     Educating and interpreting the mission and ministry of the Church of the Brethren while nurturing relationships and emboldening partnerships.

Together we steward God’s blessings

Together we re encouraging a transformation of stewardship and overseeing the resources we have been blessed with from previous and current generations.

We document the ministry of the church and preserve its historical memory to serve as a foundation for the future. We tend to our facilities and staff who bring about the missions and ministries of the church. We nurture the financial needs of the organization.

     We steward God’s blessings by:

     Curating records and detailing the mission and ministry of the Church of the Brethren.

     Maintaining facilities to create a safe environment for staff and ministry areas that require a facility.

     Providing accessibility for staff to stay connected to each other sustaining staff in their work.

     Caring for the essential financial systems and processes that help the church achieve its mission.

How our organization thrives and creates vibrancy

Crucial to the good stewardship of our resources is keeping the organization on a path toward a sustainable and thriving future — a future in which our staff, members, pastors, leaders, and partners are vibrant. This includes ways in which the organization operates internally, but also how we provide resources and reach outwardly.

Non-profit organizations do not typically interpret administrative tasks or organizational needs as ministry or program related; however, we would not be able to implement the mission and ministry of the Church of the Brethren without staff and spaces for them to happen. While the section above discusses some of this work, it is necessary to highlight that administrative tasks and organizational needs are an essential form of lay ministry.

In addition to the operations of the organization, we provide sustainability and vitality through resources like:

     Brethren Faith in Action Fund — Provides grants to congregations and camps which fund outreach ministry projects that serve their communities, strengthen their ministry, and expand the reign of God.

     Emergency Disaster Fund — Provides grants for global disaster response projects and enables funding for rebuilding and care after disaster.

     Global Food Initiative Fund — Provides grants to fund community development projects seeking to invest in small-scale economic development, join efforts to improve diet and health practices, champion soil conservation, promote awareness-raising and advocacy on hunger issues.

     Ministry Assistance Fund — Provides assistance to ministers and their families who are facing crises or emergencies and are at risk of professional or personal hardship.

Sustaining our shared work

All the work that is undertaken by this organization is financed by many funds. Some of those include Core Ministries, Self-Funding Ministries, and Special Purpose funds. Some ministry expenses are offset by registrations, sales, subscriptions, other income, or restricted contributions. All these funds support programs and services that empower us to join Jesus in the neighborhood, and together we venture to grow as courageous disciples, love and serve one another, extend generosity and witness, and steward God’s blessings.

Core Ministries are so named because they represent programs that are central to the nature of the church or are part of the administration and organizational resources needed to carry out these ministries. Ministries such as Brethren Historical Library and Archives, Brethren Volunteer Service, Discipleship and Leadership Formation, Global Mission, and Office of Peacebuilding and Policy are all financed by the Core Ministries Fund.

Special Purpose funds provide funding for the work of Brethren Disaster Ministries, Children’s Disaster Services, Global Food Initiative, and domestic and global church planting initiatives.

There are also programs that would not be available if we did not receive restricted contributions from generous donors. These programs include the Haiti Medical Project, the Ministry Assistance Fund, and Nigeria Church Rebuilding, among others.

Self-funding Ministries are considered self-sustaining as they are supported by income other than donations (e.g. registrations, material donations, etc.), and include Material Resources and Annual Conference. 

     Annual Conference exists to unite, strengthen, and equip the Church of the Brethren to follow Jesus. Held annually in different geographical locations, conference brings Brethren together to not only conduct business but to worship, learn, and to build and renew relationships.

     Material Resources at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md. works in partnership with the other organizations to inventory, pack, and deploy relief supplies, material aid, and medical supplies routinely and during times of crisis.

A Ministry Enablement Contribution of 9 percent is applied to certain restricted (or designated) donations to support the work of Core Ministries staff who ensure the donor’s intended purpose of a gift is carried out. It also aids in supporting the cost of travel visas, covering travel expenses for volunteers, travelers insurance, and other administrative overhead to place volunteers in the neighborhood.

Giving Opportunities

     Immediate

     Individuals and congregations may contribute online by credit or debit card or by mail through writing a check to mission and ministry endeavors for which they have passion. Recurring automatic gifts (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) can also be set up with ease (at www.brethren.org/recurring-gift).

     Monthly direct mail appeals, twice monthly emails for “eBrethren: Testimonies of the Church of the Brethren and its ministries,” and other special appeal communications create specific opportunities to give. Each communication highlights stores of impact.

     Individuals and congregations may choose to give to any of the four annual special offerings (One Great Hour of Sharing, Pentecost, Mission, and Advent) that highlight different ministry areas and primarily support Core Ministries. Some congregations receive full standing orders or make use of online materials (for printing and electronic use). Some individuals also receive materials at their home as a regular direct mailing or as a postcard.

	One Great Hour of Sharing reaches those near and far, sometimes changing the life of someone in distress in your own community, while at other times impacting the lives of those we may never meet, but who need our compassion. Gifts support Core Ministries, Brethren Disaster Ministries, and the Global Food Initiative.
	The Pentecost Offering highlights our passion for calling and equipping fearless disciples and leaders, renewing and planting churches, and transforming communities. Gifts are directed to Core Ministries, and the offering especially highlights the work of Discipleship and Leadership Formation.
	The Mission Offering highlights our passion for international missions and serving the Lord with our sisters and brothers around the world. Gifts are directed to Core Ministries, and the offering especially highlights Global Mission.
	The Advent Offering highlights our passion to live out the holistic peace of Jesus. Gifts are directed to Core Ministries, and the offering especially highlights the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy and Brethren Volunteer Service.

     Each congregation in the Church of the Brethren has a covenantal agreement to support the work of denominational ministries as they are able through setting aside a percentage of their annual budget or discerning a particular amount.

     Some individuals may choose to donate their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from certain retirement plans as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). Once you reach a specific age, at 73 in 2023, you must withdraw a specific amount or risk a tax penalty. The law concerning RMD’s took effect in 2023. It is recommended to talk with a financial advisor concerning your individual situation. If a person does not depend on income received from an RMD, a QCD is a beneficial option to consider.

     Sustained

     Individuals may discern to support the mission and ministry of the Church of the Brethren by including one or more programs in long-term giving plan of a will, trust, gift annuity, life insurance policy, or another form of a deferred gift. Those who enroll become members of the Faith Forward Donor Circle (learn more at www.brethren.org/ffdc). This type of gift is an investment in the future, allowing the lifelong work of individuals to continue the work of Jesus. At the same time, members inspire others to join the circle, casting their faith forward beyond their lifetime.

     Another future-proofing way of giving is the creation of an endowment with a minimum of $100,000. An endowment is a gift fund from which the investment earnings are used for its mission and ministry of the church, providing stability into the future.

Contact Mission Advancement for more information.

All photos were taken by denominational staff, partners, and volunteers unless otherwise noted.