Partnership Fund Overview

Through partnership with churches, Partnership Fund contributions assist in providing the essential ministry support functions of the EFCA national office. Contributions to districts do the same. The Partnership Fund is about churches uniting together to accomplish the EFCA’s mission.

Partnership Fund gifts are unrestricted, making possible the strengthening of local, regional, national and international ministries of the EFCA. A strengthened EFCA enables the following ministries to the local church

Office of the President

• Casting vision
• Coordination of ministry among churches and districts
• Consulting services to churches on mission, governance & effectiveness
• Credentialing and guarding EFCA’s theological integrity
• Providing biblical and theological resources
• And more

ReachGlobal

• Training international movement leaders
• Developing local church mission strategies
• Responding to crises with resources and the gospel
• Facilitating sponsorship of thousands of children
• Training and caring for 550+ missionaries
• Effective international evangelism, discipleship and multiplication training
• And more

ReachNational

• Church planting, mentoring and coaching
• Training in multi-ethnic ministries, biblical diversity, compassion and justice
• Encouraging best practices through pastor clusters and affinity groups
• Resourcing student ministries and the Challenge conference
• Coordinating unified district and national ministries to the local church
• And more

Many denominations have mandatory contributions of 5-10%. We believe this can be restrictive and inhibit local church growth. The EFCA set an amount of 1% based on budgeted need. Currently, the Partnership Fund accounts for 26% of the EFCA national office’s needed revenue. If 100% of churches contributed at the full 1%, funding would be sufficient, predictable, and enable a variety of essential resources and services to the local church.

All EFCA churches benefit through district, national and international ministries. Currently, 64% of EFCA churches voluntarily contribute to the Partnership Fund.

The preferred future of sufficient and predictable funding is 100% of EFCA churches willingly and gladly supporting the national office with 1% of their annual budget, providing funding for 47% of national office ministry expenses.

Giving to the Partnership Fund is not a strict transactional activity in which a church is purchasing services in exchange for their financial support. Key benefits to the local church made possible through local church support include:

Theological integrity

• Guarding of theological integrity through credentialing
• Providing biblical and theological resources for understanding and engaging culture
• Informal theological training

Movement initiatives

• Casting of vision and cooperative coordination of districts in unified ministry
• The Challenge youth conference and ongoing mentoring and training of youth leaders
• Expanding our ethnic church presence
• The EFCA One conference for connection, edification and vision

Training

• Church planting training, mentoring and coaching
• Training in multi-ethnic ministries, biblical diversity, justice initiatives and compassion
• Resourcing and connecting of pastors and leaders through EFCA One, the annual Theology Conference and multiple affinity groups

Global missions

• Domestic and global crisis response coordination
• Coaching and training in effective short and long term mission opportunities
• Connecting the local church to missionary personnel and projects in more than 40 countries
• Ensuring a healthy international mission strategy and healthy personnel for 550+ staff

Services

• Consulting services to local churches on mission, vision, governance and effectiveness
• Conflict resolution services and pastoral restoration ministry
• Maintaining a 501(c)(3) group tax exemption database with IRS
• Pastoral search services

Movement communication

• Pastoral clusters for encouragement and best practices
• The EFCA web site for communicating mission and vision, and ministry resources, services and opportunities
• Publishing of the EFCA blog and the EFCA Update

Each EFCA district is an independent entity with employees, budgets and needs separate from the national office. Funds received by the district are for the needs of the district. Conversely, funds received by the national office are for the needs of the national office, not the district. It may seem cumbersome, but under our current structure, two checks are necessary.

Please note: Churches in EFCA Southeast, EFCA West and the Allegheny District function underneath a unique financial structure and gifts to the Partnership Fund are split between the national and district office.

Missionary support is different and separate from Partnership Fund giving. Each missionary must raise their support through donations from churches and individuals. This covers their monthly salary/benefits and ministry expenses. It also covers an allocation for services such as accounting, processing of support, computer hardware and software, and other administrative services provided by the EFCA national office.

The Partnership Fund is financial support given by churches that strengthens the three ministry divisions at the EFCA national office: ReachGlobal, ReachNational, and National Office ministries and the services they provide to local churches and districts. The EFCA Fund is financial support given by individuals towards the domestic and global ministries of the EFCA national office.