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In May 2020, the IRS released proposed updates to the rules for group exemptions. It’s important to understand these are currently only proposed changes. We will continue to monitor this issue and pass along any important developments. In the meantime, we are here to help you. Please contact us via legal@gcfa.org if you have any questions. Question: In addition to reading the article and being informed, what else should we do? We strongly encourage any United Methodist organization that wants to apply for inclusion in the group exemption to do so as soon as possible. This will allow us to process the application under the current group exemption rules (which remain in effect until the IRS releases the final version of the new rules). To apply: Local churches, districts, and annual conferences should visit org and utilize the website’s automated process to receive an inclusion letter (typically in 10 minutes or less). United Methodist organizations (that are separate legal entities) connected to local churches, districts, and annual conferences should send an email to legal@gcfa.org, to start the application process. Examples include foundations, daycares, preschools, food pantries, camps and retreat centers, etc. Because the eligibility requirements for such organizations are more detailed, processing of these applications takes more time, and could result in the applicant making changes to its organizing documents before inclusion can be finalized. Thus, it is especially important that such applicants contact us as soon as possible. Question: Is my local church at risk of losing its tax-exempt status? No. While the general rule is that an organization must apply to the IRS to be recognized as tax-exempt, this application requirement does not apply to local churches (or to districts, annual conferences, and jurisdictions). A local church is tax-exempt because it is a church – it doesn’t need to apply to the IRS, nor does it need to be included in the group exemption. That is not changing. What may change is our ability to add local churches to the group exemption. That would impact a local church’s ability to obtain verification of its tax-exempt status, but it would not impact the local church’s status as a nonprofit organization. Question: What are the downsides of not having verification of tax-exempt status through the group exemption? The local church (or district, annual conference, or jurisdiction) would have to verify its status by citing the tax code provision that exempts it from the application requirement, rather than providing an inclusion letter from GCFA. The local church might also have to verify it is in fact a “church” when contacting organizations like Google, GuideStar, and Walmart for grants. Or, the local church would have to apply directly to the IRS for recognition, which could be costly and time intensive.

Everything you need to know about finding the right fit for your organization Have you ever been tasked with hiring a new employee, but didn’t know where to start? Increasingly, tasks that were originally thought to fall under the responsibility of the human resources department have become a part of many managers job descriptions. Finding the right fit for your church or organization can be an overwhelming process, and making the wrong hiring decision can cost you both time and money! The General Council on Finance and Administration’s team of Human Resources professionals is here to help. During this self-paced online course, we’ll walk you through the entire recruiting process from crafting job descriptions to extending offer letters. This training will provide you with employee selection best practices and useful resources to make sure your next hire is the right one for your church. During this course, you’ll learn how to: Improve your overall employee selection approach Attract talent through innovative employee recruitment sources Learn how to effectively use telephone screening and other methods to filter out the wrong applicants Practice interviewing techniques to refine and develop your skills as an interviewer—including how to open and close the meeting Understand how to ask the right questions to find out the information you need to know Avoid interview “traps”—EEO and affirmative action Who Should Attend? Individuals with five years or less of experience in hiring, including newly hired HR professionals, HR practitioners who lack formal training, non-HR specialists who recruit, interview and/or hire as part of their jobs, and long-time HR practitioners who want to reinforce or update their skills.

We can all learn and grow from our virtual worship experiences. As in-person worship becomes more frequent, we want to share some creative ways your church can merge your virtual and physical worship communities. Gather A Team Operating a virtual worship program and engaging that audience is a team effort. Coordination between your worship team, tech team, and communications team is needed to pre-plan engagement opportunities within your worship experience. Your team can be creative and use engagement tools on social media and platforms like Zoom. These moments are opportunities to transfer the love you share in-person with your virtual community and require a coordinated team to execute. Plan Online Only Engagement Moments During your worship program, plan special moments for your online community to engage with each other. You could place links in the comment or chat section for your announcements. Also, you could place sermon points and quotes in the comments for creating opportunities to actively engage the Word of God virtually. Acknowledge Your Online Crowd Looking into the camera and speaking directly to your virtual audience is a great way to communicate your appreciation for them joining you in worship. Also, with an abundance of virtual worship experiences to attend, their viewership of your service should be acknowledged. Consider Adjusting Staging or Location Reimagining your worship space can be a great way to create connections with your virtual community. Adding “home elements” to your location and staging can help your virtual audience connect with the worship experience. This is also a great reminder for viewers that they are not alone in their adjusted worship experience. Pre-record Worship Elements From Virtual Members Invite your virtual members to submit pre-recorded prayers or announcements that you can play during the service. These can be participation moments for virtual members. Scheduling a time earlier in the week and recording a prayer from a virtual member allows your worship team to reset and participate as audience members in moments of worship. You could also pre-record call and response calls-to-worship. Embrace Mistakes Mistakes will happen. Embracing them will help your team adjust in the moment and learn for the future. Also, you should embrace the uncomfortable elements of online church. These moments are often when worship leaders try to be innovative and think outside the box. Dive into the challenges of virtual worship will expand your ministry's digital capacity. Explore how God can use your ministry team’s gifts and talents to gather in Christ’s name. Digital Connection Cards Creating a series of comments that encourage your online community to like or follow your social handles and subscribe to your newsletter will grow your digital audience. Also, you can create a digital form through a platform like Google Forms or Survey Monkey for private and secure prayer requests. Direct your virtual and in-person audience to follow the links in the comments and connect with your ministry digitally. These are just a few of the opportunities available to your ministry when merging the digital and physical communities. For more help like this contact UMC Support’s Connectional Relations team and set up a virtual audio/visual assessment from our A/V specialist.

In this Wednesday Workshop, Andrew Jensen, the UMC Support Audio-Visual Communications Specialist and production director for United Methodist General Conference, will share 5 virtual meeting production tips to help you provide the best meeting experience.

The 2020 pandemic forced the cancellations of meetings and important events across the board. But rather than focus on the loss of connection, hosting a virtual meeting allows event planners to reimagine and refocus on what is important. Certified Meeting Planner Melanie Payne discusses "Ten Things to Consider When Hosting a Virtual Meeting": Reprioritize Your Goals – It is easy with events and meetings to stick to a status quo and use the same successful pattern year after year - registration, welcome worship, morning plenary, afternoon breakouts, evening social time. A virtual event gives you flexibility to mix it up, to strip down all the excess and get back to the real purpose and goals of the meetings. A virtual event allows you to be creative, concise, and effective and focus on completing your work and meeting your goals. Do a Dry Run – The old adage “practice makes perfect” holds true for a virtual meeting. It is inevitable with technology that something on some front will have a glitch. The day before, ideally the same time of the virtual event, make certain you do a full dress rehearsal. This will help highlight if you have internet connectivity issues during a certain time; if daily noises (like that neighbor mowing his lawn or the trash truck) will be heard by attendees; that your equipment is working properly and presentation slides are all in order. Have Presenters Mute Their Notifications – There is nothing more distracting for attendees than hearing a loud bing in the middle of a presentation. Make certain all presenters mute their notifications and silence all devices. Think Through Ways for Attendees to Feel Included and Engaged – If you create opportunities for engagement, your audience will be more involved. It’s as simple as that. One of the things we love so much about in-person events is the ability to connect with those around you and have a common experience. Think through the ways you can encourage those same feelings of inclusion, connection, and common experience even while people are not together. Choose Dynamic Presenters – Let’s just admit it, when listening to a virtual event our attention spans are small. Each one of us can sit down and spend 30 minutes to 3 hours watching a movie or TV show, but you sit in front of a 30-minute presentation on a single topic and it’s hard to stay focused. Choosing dynamic presenters is like choosing the right soundtrack for your movie. You think the point will get across without it, and it may, but it just isn’t as effective. Whether your presenters are experts in their field or high energy, make certain they know how to engage your audience. They may be the most engaging presenter during your in-person meeting, but consider if that translates well in the extra engagement efforts that a virtual event needs. Technology is Simply the Medium – There still needs to be a flow and narrative to your meeting that stems from your goals and through your presenters. Focus your content with a clearly recognizable beginning, middle, and end to each presentation to keep the attention and allow participants to feel involved. Think Mobile – In such a digital and mobile world, many attendees will be using mobile devices to access the virtual event. Depending on timing and life, some may move between a mobile device and a computer as their day progresses. Thinking through what the mobile view looks like can inform your slide text, how many features you may enable, and quality of presentation. Assign Moderators to the Chat and Q&A Features – It’s important for attendees to be engaged but also for presenters to focus on what they are presenting. We all have experienced those long moment lags where a presenter has to read through the chat conversation and attendees are left twiddling their thumbs. Or even worse, when an important question is asked and it didn’t get addressed. Assigning a moderator to respond to the “quick” questions and bring to the presenters attention the longer questions will allow for a better presenter and attendee flow. Create a Calendar – Many people think a virtual event will take less time to plan than an in-person event, but oftentimes virtual events come with a large learning curve that ends up taking lots of time. Creating a production schedule for the event early will allow you to have time to train presenters, delegates, and cross all you t’s and dot all your i’s. Pick a Time and Date - When picking a time and date, think about the day-to-day activities of your audience. If you’re appealing to the 9-to-5 crowd, Monday is probably not going to work. But later in the week, when they’re needing a mental break from their workload may be better. Is your event international or does it cross time zones? Think of all of your attendees when picking the date and time. Virtual meetings can be intimidating. But with a well-thought-out plan, practice for presentations, and a focus on community, these meetings can be just as successful. If you are interested in hosting a virtual meeting and don’t know where to start, reach out to the event planning professionals at UMC Support. Visit our Virtual Meeting Service page, email us at ConnectionalRelations@gcfa.org, or call us 866-367-4232.

Great graphic design is one key to a successful ministry. It creates brand awareness and helps you stay in the forefront of people’s minds. Graphic design is needed in multiple areas: logos, bulletins, newsletters, prayer cards, and more. Here are six tips to help you get started with any graphic design project: Hire a graphic designer Designers spend years in school for a reason. Plus, it will save you time and is worth the money. Know your file type If hiring a professional graphic designer isn’t in your budget, we recommend starting with the end in mind. For example, will this be a digital file (something you post on social media, for example) or are you printing hard copies for mass production? If digital/web, think small—72-150 resolution. If your file is for print, go larger—300 resolution is best. Graphics can go from big to small without losing quality, but never from small to big. If you are creating for both print and web/digital, start with print size and then resize down for web/digital. This is a great site to reference for social media graphic sizes. Choose your platform Most designers use Adobe software to create materials, but if you don’t have access to that, Adobe Creative Cloud Express and Canva are free tools to help you create your perfect design. Pay attention to fonts Fonts are key to good communication. As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to use one font throughout your document. Some font families (Helvetica) have multiple iterations (bold, italic, condensed, etc.). You’ll want to use as few of these as possible. Use bold iterations for headlines and drawing attention to text. Make sure you use fonts that represent what you are trying to communicate. If your material is light and fun, maybe go with a san-serif font or a display font. If it’s all business, serif fonts look professional and clean. Sites like DaFont and Font Squirrel are good for free fonts. Just remember, Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Curlz MT are usually bad ideas. Focus on color Multiple colors are beautiful, but not for your project. Choose a basic color pallet of 2 or 3 colors and stick with those. One primary color and 2 secondary colors can help add intrigue and break up the text, but too much color makes it hard to read and too busy. Adobe Color Wheel is a great resource for choosing colors that go together. Use graphics appropriately A picture paints 1000 words. With most people being used to quick information on hand-held devices, and attention spans getting shorter, it may be best to use a picture rather than more words. Just remember that a picture should represent the diversity of your audience and go with your chosen color scheme; be mindful of copyright and royalties for images. Most images you find on websites are not royalty free and it is not okay to copy/paste an image from a web site to your document without permission or acknowledgement. Websites like Pexel and Unsplash offer high-quality images that are royalty free that you can use for your designs. If you find that you are in need of images more regularly, or need extended license for use of selling merchandise, paid subscriptions to sites like iStock and Pond5 may be a great resource. GCFA is pleased to offer graphic design services to local churches and ministries. For more information about GCFA’s graphic design or other communication services, contact Connectional Relations at ConnectionalRelations@gcfa.org or call 866-367-4232.

The United Methodist Book of Discipline assigns the responsibility for the annual audit of financial records to the committee on finance. The committee “shall make provisions for an annual audit of the financial statements of the local church and all its organizations and accounts. The committee shall make a full and complete report to the annual charge conference” (¶258.4d). The purpose of this audit guide is to assist the committee in its work.

Join in an interactive workshop with Audio Visual Specialist Andrew Jensen as he discusses preparing to go live for the first time. We will discuss different streaming platforms and how to use the gear you (probably) already own.

The United Methodist Church is in transition. At the 2020 General Conference there will be discussions about several proposals for the restructuring, separation, or dissolution of the United Methodist Church. These proposals have brought concerns about property, assets, and the trust clause to the forefront of discussions. We want to help United Methodists across the connection stay informed and have a full understanding of our current policies as they pray and prepare for GC 2020. 1. What is the Trust Clause? The United Methodist Church is governed by the Book of Discipline, which includes rules on how to become a member, how to ordain our pastors, how to organize the Church, and many other things. One of the rules in the Book of Discipline is that the legal documents (the “deeds”) demonstrating ownership of local church property must contain certain language called the “trust clause.” Essentially, the Trust Clause states that the local church owns the property, in trust, for the benefit of the entire denomination. The principal reason for this Trust Clause is to ensure that United Methodist local church property will continue to be used for United Methodist Church purposes. 2. What does it mean that the local church owns the property, in trust, for the denomination? The basic idea is that the local church owns the property, but the property can only be used for certain purposes of benefit to the entire denomination. Specifically, the Trust Clause requires that the property “[b]e used, kept, and maintained as a place of divine worship of the United Methodist ministry and members of The United Methodist Church: subject to the Discipline, usage, and ministerial appointments of said Church as from time to time authorized and declared by the General Conference and by the annual conference within whose bounds the said premises are situated. 3. What is the history of our Trust Clause? The history of our Trust Clause can be traced all the way back to John Wesley. In 1750, John Wesley requested three eminent lawyers to craft deeds for three Methodist preaching houses in England. These were to serve as models for all future deeds for the Methodists. Over the years, these deeds were revised several times and in 1796, under the leadership of Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke, a “model deed” was adopted by the General Conference for the Methodists in America. The Trust Clause as we know it today first appeared in our Book of Discipline in 1797. 4. What is the purpose of our Trust Clause? The answer to this question goes to the heart of what it means to be united. Obviously some things have changed since Wesley’s time many of the core principles that initially motivated the development of the Trust Clause are still important today, like connectionalism. Connectionalism is the principle that local churches in our denomination do not “stand alone” but are “connected” together. In contrast to purely congregational churches with local autonomy, United Methodist churches are part of a larger organizational and governing structure consisting of districts, annual conferences, and the General Conference. The ministers of each conference share a mutual covenant of mission to the whole Church. Moreover, United Methodist churches are connected through the other shared principles, discussed below. 5. What restrictions does the Trust Clause impose on our church property? Aside from the general responsibility to maintain and protect the property, the Book of Discipline sets forth detailed procedures a church must follow prior to taking most major actions affecting its property. For example, the district superintendent must consent to any sale, lease, mortgage, or extensive renovation of church property. This consent by the district superintendent reflects the denomination’s shared interest (through the Trust Clause) in the future of the church property. 6. Were there any changes made to the Trust Clause as a result of the Special Called GC of 2019? Legislation was passed at the special-called General Conference of 2019 that affects the Trust Clause in the Book of Discipline (¶ 2553). Disaffiliation of a Local Church Over Issues Related to Human Sexuality was added to the 2016 Book of Discipline which provides a path for disaffiliation “because of the current deep conflict within The United Methodist Church around issues of human sexuality.” Local churches “… shall have a limited right, under the provisions of this paragraph, to disaffiliate from the denomination for reasons of conscience regarding a change in the requirements and provisions of the Book of Discipline related to the practice of homosexuality or the ordination or marriage of self-avowed practicing homosexuals.” The process for disaffiliation is laid out in the subparagraphs of ¶ 2553, including the rights of a local church “to retain its real and personal, tangible and intangible property.” Once the disaffiliation process has been properly completed, “the applicable annual conference shall release any claims that it may have under ¶ 2501 and other paragraphs of the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, commonly referred to as the trust clause.” 7. I’ve heard people in my church say it isn’t right for the denomination to have such control over our property through the Trust Clause. They say it isn’t fair because it was our contributions that built this church and paid for its upkeep. Therefore, it should be our church. How should I respond to these statements as a faithful United Methodist? You could start by telling them they are right – it is their church! And as United Methodists, because of the Trust Clause, they can say the same thing about every other United Methodist church. You could also say it wasn’t just their contributions that built and sustained the church, but also possibly the contributions of generations of people before them who contributed with the purpose and hope that the church continues to be United Methodist in the future. You could then tell them their financial support of the church is just one side of a covenant. The United Methodist Church also made a covenant to supply and supervise ministers, provide financial and other aid to the church if needed, develop Sunday school materials and hymnals, and many other things. But, again, the most important point is that no United Methodist church stands alone. Each United Methodist church is part of a larger connection of shared purpose and mission that has been in existence for hundreds of years. And this connection is at the core of what it means to be United Methodist. You and your church are part of something much larger than yourselves – something you can be proud of as Methodism reaches the world over to make disciples for Jesus Christ.

You’ve probably attended an event in recent years that had an event app, or planned to include an app at your event. Within the last few years, we’ve seen the shift from event apps being a ‘wow factor’ to an expectation. However, it still may not be a necessity at your particular event. So how can you decide if you need an event app? Below are 6 questions you can ask yourself to determine if you need an event app: 1. Do your attendees use smartphones/devices? First and foremost, know if your attendees are smartphone users. If your target audience is made up of younger, tech-savvy individuals, you can safely assume that the majority (if not all) of them are using smartphones. These are the types of attendees that have come to expect an event app. These power users are already glued to their phones so it makes sense to focus their attention on your event, even if it’s through their smartphone or mobile device. For those attendees not using smartphones, they can always access your event app through a web browser. 2. How complex is your event schedule? Is your event spread over multiple days? Do you have several different tracks? In these instances, having an event app is extremely beneficial. It helps keep attendees organized and on top of sessions. The My Schedule feature allows attendees to add sessions from the main schedule to their personal schedule so that they don’t miss any break out sessions they are interested in. In addition, the What’s On Now feature will display everything that is happening right at that moment. This makes it easy for attendees to plan accordingly and hit every session that is relevant to them. Without an event app, interesting sessions can easily get lost in the mix, causing attendees not to get the most out of your event. 3. How likely are things to change over the course of your event? Every successful event planner knows that you have to expect the unexpected when planning an event. Certain factors come in to play that can make change inevitable. Weather, for example. If your event is outside and suddenly the weather takes a turn for the worst and you have to move the event inside. The best way to communicate any sort of unexpected change on the fly is through an event app. Using push notifications, you can send an alert or update to all attendees mobile devices in real-time. As long as they have your event app installed, they’ll be notified of the change. 4. How important is networking to your attendees? We conducted a survey and found that the majority of attendees place the most importance on networking at an event. However, if you’re anything like me, networking can seem a little daunting and even scary. An event app can greatly help with this by facilitating networking. Through the event app, attendees can connect with each other via Like Minded, a feature that matches attendees based on similarities in their Attendee Profile. In addition, there is a plethora of other networking features available in the app such as, Messaging, Contact Exchange, Quick Meetings and more. 5. How many exhibitors does your event have? Do they need lead gen? If you have a huge exhibition hall, having an event app is a great way to assist both attendees and exhibitors. Attendees can search for specific exhibitors contact information, and links for finding their booths on an interactive floor map. This ensures that they take full advantage of breaks and spend their time visiting the exhibitor booths most valuable and relevant to them. On the flip side, an event app also comes in handy for your exhibitors. Using a badge scanner built into the app, exhibitors can easily capture attendee details. 6. Do you need to provide attendees with documents & resources? Many attendees appreciate additional resources at an event. For example, presentation slides, speaker notes, guides, eBooks and other supporting documents speakers use in their presentations. This ensures attendees get the most education out of your event as possible, and are able to bring key takeaways back to the office immediately. You can use your event app to distribute these resources, and attendees can conveniently save any resource they like to their phone using the My Briefcase feature. We hope this article, written by our partners at Quickmobile have helped answered your questions around your need an event app at your next meeting, conference, or event. If you would like a demonstration, have more questions, or are interested in our mobile event app UMC Meet - personalized to your meeting - email our Connectional Relations Team at ConnectionalRelations@gcfa.org or call (866) 367-4232 today. We’re here and happy to help with all of your event needs, including comprehensive meeting planning, online registration software, and more!

It is good practice to verify your ministry’s tax exempt status once a year. It can save a lot of money for your ministries. Here’s how.

Change, especially when it comes to finances, is never easy within the church. But as technology grows, so does our opportunity to meet our members and community where they are. The following guide will help you and your church navigate the newness and understand the world of electronic giving. CLICK HERE for the interactive guide.