North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church

There is a lot of talk lately about the upcoming implementation of some of the first phases of health care reform.  No matter which side of the political spectrum you find yourself, it is important to be informed about the issues.  I ran across a video tutorial about health care reform from BCBSNC that I… Continue Reading→

Local churches and other salary-paying units in The United Methodist Church, as employers, need to understand an important employee notice requirement this year under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the national health care reform law. Churches must provide this Notice to all current employees (clergy and lay) before Oct. 1, regardless of… Continue Reading→

My last post was about working toward a very broad goal of having a local church budget that reflects about one third for missional giving, one third for facility or operational expenses and one third for staff compensation.  Working toward that goal can be difficult if your church is having financial difficulty with meeting the… Continue Reading→

Around this time of year, many churches are beginning to prepare ministry budgets for next year.  We get calls with leaders trying to figure out how much should go into each category to help make sure a church is sound financially.  As a very broad, general rule, we have recommended that churches consider using one… Continue Reading→

We are pleased that a bill has been introduced that will help to clarify the Affordable Care Act for churches!  The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits (GBOPHB) actively follows the legislation and advocates for United Methodist churches and annual conferences in the process.  For more information about the most recent step in health… Continue Reading→

As we have just passed the filing deadline for our personal income taxes, we are sure no one is eager to just back in the tax mind set, but don’t move on to other things too soon! Implementation guidance is available from the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits for churches eligible for the… Continue Reading→

We are blessed in the NC Conference in countless ways – one of our blessings is our ability to enable ministry to happen by helping to fund travel costs for our clergy and laity serving churches in our conference.  It is a gift that we are as able as we are to provide support for… Continue Reading→

We receive lots of questions throughout the year and particularly around tax reporting time about whether individuals providing services to churches for payment – musicians, maintenance staff, janitorial staff, landscapers, etc. – should be considered employees or contractors.  The Internal Revenue Service has guidance to help you determine how to classify those individuals based on… Continue Reading→

Especially around this time of the year, we are asked, “What do churches get from paying apportionments?” That is not a question specific to North Carolina but is one that is asked throughout the United Methodist family. When church members ask this of pastors, district superintendents, and conference staff, they may be hoping for an… Continue Reading→