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 The
Apollos Offering
What is the
Apollos Offering?
At our 2004 Annual
Meeting, The Indiana-Kentucky Conference approved an offering to
support leadership to new church starts. The Apollos Offering is the
result of that action. Each church is asked to invite its members to
participate once a year. Funds raised will be used for leadership
support for pastors.
How much is
being requested?
Each church member is asked to give a
minimum of five dollars each year. It is hoped that many members
will want to be supportive of new church starts and give
substantially more. Also, a congregation is free to suggest to its
members a higher amount. For example, one church is asking its
members to give at least $20 a year.
When is the
Apollos Offering Received?
Each congregation will make a
determination of the best time for them to receive that offering. It
will vary according to each congregation’s calendar.
Why do we need
new church starts?
There are several reasons. First, the
Bible mandates it. Jesus commands us to make disciples everywhere
(Matthew 28: 18) and we fulfill his words when we call new
congregations into being to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We also need new churches to insure that
the United Church of Christ remains healthy and vital for future
generations. Church growth in a denomination is directly tied to the
number of new church starts. Denominations grow when they start many
churches, they languish when they start few churches.
Further, populations shift and change.
Cornfields become subdivisions and little towns become cities. These
changes bring a need to place churches where none were needed in the
past. Additionally, new churches bring life and vitality to the
entire denomination. The excitement of new churches is contagious
and uplifting to existing churches. In many cases the presence of a
new church start results in growth for neighboring congregations.
Starting new churches is good for all of us.
Who is Apollos?
In the first letter to the Corinthians
(3:5-9), Paul writes that he did the initial work of calling that
church together, but it was the work of a man named Apollos that
nurtured this new church into a fully functioning congregation. Paul
states that Apollos “watered” the seed that Paul planted so that God
could give growth to the church. In like spirit, we ask IKC church
members to “water” the seeds that are being planted around the
conference so that God can give growth to them.
What plans does the Indiana-Kentucky
Conference have for new church starts?
Our goal is “20 by 2020”, that is,
twenty new churches by the year 2020.
To date, New Hope UCC in Owensboro, KY
was received into our Conference in 2003. Trinity UCC Gary held
their first worship in September 2004. We are planning for a new
church start in East Fishers, Indiana, a fast growing community
northeast of Indianapolis. We are currently exploring the Lexington,
Kentucky area for another church start.
Some UCC churches are struggling. Why
not devote all our resources to helping existing churches?
It’s not an either/or situation. There
are currently programs in place to provide assistance to struggling
churches. This does not reduce the great need for new congregations.
Many congregations struggle because they are in a poor location or
for other reasons in which financial support won’t help at all.
Doesn’t OCWM
provide money for new church starts?
Our Church’s Wider Mission supports both
the conference which is initiating and planning these new church
starts, as well as our national UCC, which provides leadership
grants, training and guidance for new churches. But a new church
start has significant expenses, and the resources for supporting it
are not nearly enough without additional support.
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