Counting on support --Giving to missions shows increase
Missionaries and mission projects received outstanding financial support in 2015 from Oklahoma Conference United Methodists, according to Karen Distefano of Bartlesville.
She is the Conference’s secretary of global ministries.
Tops in the jurisdiction
Oklahomans gave $191,289 to missionaries in 2015.
That total far surpassed missionary funding from any other annual conference in the South Central Jurisdiction, according to year-end statistics from Distefano.
Overall jurisdictional giving was $626,344. Oklahomans contributed 30.5 percent of that amount.
Central Texas Conference gave $124,025, the second highest amount.
The Advance
At the denomination level, the Advance enables voluntary, designated giving to mission projects and missionaries who serve through the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM).
In 2015, Oklahoma’s churches, individuals, and groups gave an impressive amount through the Advance: $743,799.
That is a significant increase when compared to the Conference’s total of $593,752 Advance support in 2014, Distefano reported.
"Thank you for your dedication to supporting our missionaries around the world!" she declared.
To contact her, email okcsgm@gmail.com. Find a list of some Oklahoma-related mission personnel on page 39 of the latest Conference Journal.