Contributions to Percentage of Income (POI) and Per Member Asking (PMA) received by the Office of the General Assembly in fiscal year 2023 (FY23) through May 31 total $2,211,919. May POI/PMA support was $143,725.
With one month left in the fiscal year, the total is only $3,275 less than the $2,215,194 FY23 support projection to fund the EPC’s overall mission, vision, and Gospel Priorities of church health, church planting, effective biblical leadership, and global movement. FY23 contributions continue to outpace the FY22 year-to-date total of $2,072,726 by $139,193 (6.7 percent). The 12-month rolling average of POI/PMA contributions is $212,516—6.3 percent above the rolling average as of May 3, 2022.
“I say it every month: I am so grateful for the trust and generosity of our churches to support POI so faithfully,” said Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk. “I am also very thankful for the excellent stewardship of our staff at the Office of the General Assembly. Our total operating expenses are more $5,300 under budget through May 31.”
Of the $2,211,919 received, $442,384 (20 percent) was contributed to EPC World Outreach.
In addition to PMA/POI contributions, $5,750,437 in designated gifts were received through May 31. This total is $515,883 (8.2 percent) lower than the $6,266,320 in designated gifts received in the same period in FY22. The entire difference is attributed to significant donations in 2022 to the Domestic Emergency Relief Fund in response to Hurricane Ida and the International Disaster Relief Fund in response to the Ukraine crisis.
Of the total, $5,445,476 was designated for World Outreach workers and projects, and $304,962 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.
Designated gifts include support for World Outreach global workers and projects, and contributions to EPC Special Projects such as Emergency Relief, church planting and revitalization initiatives, and the EPC’s Thanksgiving and Christmas offerings.
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.