As of March 31, Percentage of Income (POI) contributions received by the Office of the General Assembly since the July 1 start of the EPC’s fiscal year total $1,830,699. The amount is $68,389 (3.9 percent) more than PMA at the same point last year, yet $21,443 (1.2 percent) less than the $1,852,142 budgeted support projection to fund the EPC’s overall mission, vision, and Gospel Priorities of church planting, church health, effective biblical leadership, and global movement.
March PMA contributions were $228,084.
“As we enter the last quarter of our fiscal year, I am thankful that the financial support from our churches remains strong,” said Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk. “To be nearly four percent above last year is testimony to God’s gracious provision. Our OGA staff also continues their excellent stewardship—we are almost $80,000 under budget in our spending.”
Of the $1,830,699 received, $366,140 (20 percent) was contributed to EPC World Outreach.
In addition to PMA contributions, $4,761,586 in designated gifts were received through March 31. This total is $150,661 (3 percent) less than the $5,029,142 in designated gifts received in FY22. Designated gifts include support for World Outreach global workers and projects, and contributions to EPC Special Projects such as the Domestic Emergency Relief Fund, church health and church planting initiatives, and the EPC’s holiday offerings.
Of the total, $4,487,631 was designated for World Outreach workers and projects, and $273,954 was designated for EPC projects. These amounts only reflect gifts received and distributed by the Office of the General Assembly, and do not reflect donations given directly to WO global workers or other projects.
Commissioners to the denomination’s 42nd General Assembly in June 2022 approved a transition from the Per Member Asking (PMA) funding formula to a Percentage of Income (POI) model. Under PMA, churches were asked to contribute $23 per member to the Office of the General Assembly. The POI model is a request for churches to support the national level of the EPC with 1 percent of income to the church’s general operating fund. The shift will phase in over the next three years, with full POI implementation expected at the start of FY26 in July 2025.