Robert L. Rawson, Treasurer

The General Conference Treasury is successful to the degree that it supports and helps implement the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. At the heart of our mission statement is the goal of proclaiming the three angels messages to the world, leading people everywhere to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour. In keeping with this mission, we present the treasurer's report.

While there is much progress to report, we give credit where credit is due-to our Lord and Saviour, who has abundantly blessed His people. We place ourselves in His hands daily, and watch His design for His church unfold. When challenges appear great, we remind ourselves that our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Nothing is too big for Him.

To summarize the good news of the past five years:

1. Tithe and offerings have increased.
2. The debt of GC institutions has been drastically reduced and in many cases eliminated.
3. A new tithe-sharing plan was adopted, allowing world divisions to share more equally in funding GC operations.

Income Sources
Tithe Funds: Tithe from world divisions to support the world budget averaged $65,312,331 annually over the past five years. This amount made up 41 percent of total General Conference income.

Non-tithe Funds & Offerings: Offerings remitted to the GC from world divisions to support the world budget over the past five years have averaged $47,886,543 annually, and have comprised 28 percent of total General Conference income. This category of income represents freewill giving through Sabbath schools as missions, Investment, Thirteenth Sabbath, and thank offerings.

Two offerings continue to emphasize the church's historical commitment to missions, directly supporting missionaries and mission outreach activities. They are the Annual Week of Sacrifice Offering, now limited to Global Mission, and the Missions Extension Offering, used only for support of overseas missionaries.

Nontithe Funds - Other: Additional nontithe income contributing to the GC World Budget includes: interest, deferred giving maturities, returns from investments, outright gifts, and miscellaneous income. These have averaged $47,804,640 annually over the past five years, and have made up 31 percent of total General Conference income.

The total GC income from all sources for the past five years was $805,017,570.

Expenditures

GC Operations: These expenses support the operation of the GC headquarters office, including its departments. The GC aims to supply only those services that provide valuable assistance to divisions, unions, conferences/missions, and churches in fulfilling the gospel commission given to the apostles and this church by Jesus.

A limitation cap-designed to control growth at the GC headquarters was established in 1992. Each year the treasurer reports to the GC Executive Committee all operational expenses related to the cap. GC operational expenses have averaged $21,842,456 annually over the past five years-14 percent of total GC budget expenditures.

Appropriations: Appropriations to world divisions and GC institutions during the past five years totaled $305,515,006-39 percent of total GC budget expenditures.

Direct appropriations to church divisions over the past five years were $200,196,557; direct appropriations to GC institutions over the past five years were $101,251,576.

Interdivision employees: In 1996 a change was made in administration of interdivision employees. The GC assumed responsibility for the funding of such employees. Division appropriations were adjusted to recognize this change. This category of expense forms a significant part of the total. From 1995 to the present the GC facilitated a yearly average of 1,153 missionaries and 2,000 North American volunteers. During the past five years the General Conference spent a total of $78,326,956 in support of missionaries-10 percent of GC budget expenses.

Litigation

The imperfect world in which we live occasionally requires involvement in legal proceedings. Whenever possible the church endeavors to avoid recourse to courts of law, and first attempts to settle disputes by using the principles outlined in Scripture. Should this prove impossible, leaving no other course of action by which the church can protect its good name or assets or otherwise act as a good steward, legal proceedings may become unavoidable. The cost of outside legal counsel in litigation cases was covered from nontithe sources and totaled $1,137,632 during the past five years.

Indebtedness

We are pleased to report significant progress in reducing and where possible eliminating debt by all church organizations, especially GC institutions. GC institutions that have virtually eliminated external debt within the past five years are: Andrews University, Christian Record Services, Oakwood College, and Loma Linda University. Pacific Press Publishing Association has been debt-free since 1994. The Review and Herald Publishing Association will in essence pay off its remaining debt early in the year 2001. The only GC institution having external debt with extended amortization is Loma Linda University Medical Center, and attention is being given, with some success, to reducing this debt load.

Tithe Sharing

The GC Executive Committee met on April 19, 2000, and in a historic decision dramatically revised the funding formula for sharing expenses of the worldwide church.

The new plan, scheduled to be phased in over a five-year period, provides that each division share equitably to fund GC headquarters operations. Committee members voted that each world division of the church will send 2 percent of tithe for this purpose, thus creating the first equal financing plan in the denomination's 137-year history.

The previous funding formula required divisions outside North America to contribute 1 percent of tithe, while North America contributed nearly 11 percent of its tithe funds. Under the new plan, in addition to the 2 percent for support of headquarters operations, the North American Division (NAD) will contribute another 6 percent of tithe to support world missions and also in recognition of the benefits of having the GC headquarters office and several GC institutions located in its territory.

When the plan is fully phased in, North American tithe contributions to the GC will decrease by approximately $16 million-about the equivalent of the annual tithe for one NAD midsize local conference. When fully implemented, the doubling of the tithe commitment from the other 11 divisions is expected to contribute an additional $4 million annually. The net reduction of approximately $12 million in tithe to the GC is expected to be largely offset by a projected steady tithe growth for the world church of approximately 3 percent annually over the next five years.

General Conference Institutions and Missions

We expect that every organization connected with the church will contribute to the mission of this church. In reviewing the GC and its related entities (institutions, departments, and services), we believe this is happening.

In Tribute

God has blessed our members. Millions have responded faithfully to God's call to worship Him in tithes and offerings. The purpose of the GC Treasury is to manage God's funds carefully. I thank God for His generous people, and also for a group of colleagues who make possible the faithful management of the financial blessings God has so richly bestowed.

The GC Treasury staff are a dedicated, faithful group of people who demonstrate their commitment to the church but are seldom recognized for the long hours and the cheerfulness with which they deal with complex issues and myriad detail.

I think of Lynn Rose, who receipts donations. Many here may have received a helpful Bible text in answer to a question, a note of encouragement, or an assurance of prayer on your behalf along with a donation receipt. Jerry Jennings retired after nearly 30 years of working with the investment team that manages the stock and bond portfolios of the church. Even in his retirement he still reports to the office every day. Carole Colburn in her quiet way has supported countless missionary families, dealing with complex personal questions of families who work far from home and in cultures different from their own, and who often need an encouraging word. Linda Alinsod deals with a myriad of detail related to the international accounting of the church. Linda recently spent six weeks in Russia, assisting in the resolution of a number of complex issues.

These few people represent all the dedicated members of the GC Treasury team. Because of God's blessings and the support and professionalism of this group of people, this report has been possible.

Conclusion

All credit for our progress in the past five years belongs to the Lord. He allows us to be stewards by providing for our needs. He convicts hearts to respond to human needs in times of great physical or spiritual distress. He opens the way by which we can share the wonderful news of a soon-coming Saviour, offering hope to hopeless people.

The complexities of this world are often beyond human understanding, and we readily recognize our dependence on God and His desire for His church. Miracles of His divine intervention are numerous.

We need not spend time worrying about resources-God always provides. Instead, let us ask whether we are in tune with the direction in which the Lord wishes us to move. Do we share the same vision that the Lord has for us? Is our relationship with the Lord right? God will provide as we step out in faith.

We need to remind ourselves frequently of the words of the prophet of the Lord: “The home missionary work will be farther advanced in every way when a more liberal, self-denying, self-sacrificing spirit is manifested for the prosperity of foreign missions; for the prosperity of the home work depends largely, under God, upon the reflex influence of the evangelical work in countries afar off. It is in working actively to supply the necessities of the cause of God that we bring our souls in touch with the Source of all power” (Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, p. 222).

[The auditor's report of the quinquennial audit of the General Conference was presented to the GC session. A copy of their report is available upon request of the GC treasurer.]