"Command them … to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age…."
—I Timothy 6: 18-19
The Christian Reformed Church in North America funds its institutions, agencies, and ministries from a broad range of sources. These include tuition, product sales, and grants, as well as gift income. Gift income includes individual gifts and contributions, special offerings, estate giving, and ministry shares.
Of these, ministry shares is the most often-discussed and least-understood funding stream. This uniquely Christian Reformed revenue tool has its roots at the very beginnings of the denomination during the last half of the 19th century.
A Brief History
In the early years, there was a strong sense of mutual support among CRC congregations. They understood the need to stand with each other both spiritually and financially.
This sense of community led to the establishment of “assessments” that were used to fund the creation of Calvin College, Calvin Seminary, and denominational services. At the same time, “quotas” were established to fund the mission work of the church that could not be accomplished by individual congregations.
In 1939, synod said that the distinction between assessments and quotas was artificial and that “quota” should be used to refer to both amounts. In 1992, synod changed the term to “ministry share.” It stated: “This is a new term which more appropriately describes the covenantal, communal commitment the churches have together.”
A Few Quick Facts
All groups within the CRC except the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) receive ministry shares. The percentage of agency annual budgets funded via ministry shares varies from less than four percent at Calvin College, where the funds are used to supply tuition reductions for students from CRC families, to more than 90 percent for certain pastoral ministries.
Ministry shares are requested from organized churches based on the number of active adult confessing members. Annual contributions per member work out to less than $1 per day.
Why It Matters
One of the advantages of the ministry share program is that funds are received from congregations at little or no administrative collection cost. To raise the same amount of money through the work of a typical fundraising group, one would expect to spend between $3 million and $4 million per year. Thanks to ministry shares, that money goes instead into ministry programs.
Just under half of the CRC’s annual gift income is derived via ministry shares.
Special offerings are suggested each year for each of the agencies and institutions of the denomination. These funds, typically collected during a second offering, are called above ministry share gifts.
While some congregations choose not to contribute the requested ministry share, many still contribute an above ministry share amount.
For more information, contact Jerry Dykstra, Executive Director, at 1-800-272-5125.
