"For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another." (Romans 12:3-5)

OUR MINISTRY TO GOD’S WORLD
As our mission statement so aptly observes, we are called to serve Jesus Christ.  One of our most important ways to serve our Lord is through ministries to his flock; all of humankind.  This
is significantly supported by each session’s commitment to mission outside the local church.  The monetary manifestations of that support are funneled through the Synod Mission Treasury Service.

The Synod of the Rocky Mountains is the Mission Treasury Service Receiving Center for the eight presbyteries of the Synod of the Rocky Mountains.

The Synod receives, reports and disburses funds to the ministries described in detail below.  The ministries of Presbyteries, the Synod, General Assembly, seminaries, disaster relief agencies, and many other institutions and programs are enabled by the money given so generously by our members; the body of Christ’s church.

I. MISSION TREASURY SERVICE PURPOSE & PROGRAMS

BASIC MISSION
Basic Mission is the foundation of PC(USA) funding.

A primary responsibility of each Presbyterian Session, Basic Mission is key to planning and implementing programs for the entire church.  Basic Mission provides food for the hungry, shelter for homeless, a voice for the unheard and places to worship for the unchurched.

Basic Mission provides or supports

• Missionary salaries and benefits
• Grants to ecumenical agencies
• Assistance for overseas church, hospital, school and other partners
• Funds for New Church Development
• Resources and services for congregations
• Church camps for children and adults
• Work of the presbyteries, synods and General Assembly

Basic Mission Support is funded in two ways: Shared and Directed.

1. Shared Mission Support
Generally, Sessions provide Shared Mission Support – Gifts and contributions made with no restrictions. 

Shared Mission gifts fund the adopted mission budgets of sessions, presbyteries, synod and the General Assembly.

Sessions will select certain active missional projects and specifically direct their contributions to them.

SPECIAL OFFERINGS
Four special offerings are taken each year:

One Great Hour of Sharing


Supports worldwide ministries of disaster response, refugee aid and community development.

Proceeds are distributed so 36% goes to the Presbyterian Hunger Program and 32% each to Self Development of People and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

The offering is typically received during the Lent through Easter seasons.

Pentecost


The Pentecost offering was conceived in 1998 as a way to serve children at risk.

Forty percent is retained by local congregations and are used for such ministries as supporting homeless shelters, after school facilities, Bibles for teens, etc.  The remaining sixty percent is used by the General Assembly Council to fund ministries with youth and young adults, young adult volunteers and child advocacy.

The offering is usually received on the day of Pentecost.

Peacemaking


Created to fund church-wide efforts to promote peace in our world.  Funds are used to support peacemaking initiatives, develop peace-education throughout the church and influence our society and governments to seek peace through their efforts.

One quarter of the offering is retained by each congregation for local programs; another quarter is reserved for Presbytery activities in our Synod.  The remaining half is used by the General Assembly for national and worldwide projects.

Peacemaking offering is received by most congregations on World Communion Sunday, celebrated the First Sunday in October.

Christmas Joy


Assists active and retired church workers.  This offering also funds Presbyterian-related ethnic education.

Proceeds are distributed equally to the Board of Pensions and General Assembly Council.

The offering is traditionally received on the Sunday before Christmas.

THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION FUND


A gift to the Theological Education Fund (TEF) directly supports our denomination's 10 degree-granting and 2 covenant-related seminaries.  Gifts are received any time with proceeds being distributed annually to the seminaries.  A gift to the TEF will help to prepare faith-filled pastoral leaders to advance the church of Jesus Christ... for generations to come...

PRESBYTERIAN DISASTER ASSISTANCE


Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to witness the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crisis and catastrophic events. PDA is the emergency and refugee program of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Its core budget, including staff and administrative cost is funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing.



The numbers are staggering. Today 37 million Americans live in a state of poverty, hunger and hardship and more than 850 million people worldwide are hungry. Everyday 24,000 people die from the effects of hunger. Your financial support enables the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) to witness to the healing love of Christ and to bring hope to communities and individuals struggling with hunger. Its core budget, including staff and administrative cost is funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing.

EXTRA COMMITMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Extra Commitment Opportunities (ECOs) are mission projects supported with gifts over and above sessions' adopted budgets.  General Assembly has an extensive list of such projects from which to choose.

II.  Mission Treasury Service Process Summary

Plan  Annually, each church session adopts their ministry and mission budget which includes the Mission Support Commitment (pledge) made to their respective presbytery, synod and General Assembly. 

Pledge  Pledge forms are sent to churches from, and are returned to, presbytery offices. If the church’s budget includes General Assembly Directed or Extra Commitment Opportunity projects, a pledge form must also be submitted for GA’s approval and planning.

Pay  The payment schedule for fulfillment of the church’s pledge is determined by the individual church.  However, in order to fund mission projects dependent on pledged funds, it is most helpful for the church to pay in regular increments. 

Churches are instructed to send mission contribution checks to the Mission Treasury Service, PO Box 685, Wheat Ridge CO  80034.  Only payments sent in this manner can be recorded in the Synod database of church giving.

It is critical that all mission payments be processed by the Synod.  Doing so allows us to capture complete data on Synod-wide mission giving before forwarding the funds to their intended recipients and thereby build a central source of giving history.  If churches bypass the MTS system by sending checks directly to projects, presbyteries or GA, the entire church structure is left with incomplete data with which to analyze and manage our unified mission effort.

Please be assured that every penny processed by the Synod MTS system will be forwarded to its directed destination.  The Synod does not assess any processing fee or percentage!

Payments are periodically sent from churches to the Synod with one check made payable to the Synod of the Rocky Mountains (PCUSA).  A remittance form is provided for the session to attach to the check.  It is important that the form be completed in full. 

• Insure that all church identification information is included at the top, especially including the church’s PIN.
• Enter any shared Basic Mission Funding in one of the two sets of Mission Funding GA-Synod-Presbytery fields.  The first group of fields is to be used only if you are precisely following your presbytery’s approved distribution formula.  Use the second set of fields only if your session has decided to distribute your giving in proportions that vary from the presbytery formula.
• Enter any directed Basic Mission Funding in the Directed Mission Support fields making certain to provide ample identifying information in the “Project Name” and “Project Number” fields.
• Enter any special offerings in the appropriate Special Offerings and other Special Gifts fields.
• Enter any extra commitment gifts in the Extra Commitment Opportunities fields providing all appropriate project names and numbers.
• Finally, date and enter the contact information requested at the bottom of the form and mail it with your check to the MTS lockbox address.

Confirm  After the Synod has processed your remittance, a receipt will be returned to you listing the detail of your contribution.  Always review the receipt carefully for accuracy and contact the Synod if there are errors or you failed to receive a receipt.

If you have any questions, call 888 702 5968 toll free or 303 477 9070.  Also, you can email questions to srm@synodrm.org.