5
THE
ADVANCE
S E C T
I O N
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5.1
THE ADVANCE FOR CHRIST
AND HIS CHURCH
“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift
each of you has received.” 1 Peter 4:10, NRSV
1. What Is the Advance?
The Advance for Christ and His Church is an official United Methodist program for vol
untary financial giving. Through the Advance, United Methodist individuals and groups
support specific, approved mission programs or personnel with their financial gifts.
The Advance is called “second-mile giving” because, in The United Methodist Church,
the “first mile” (priority) is for congregations to fulfill their commitment to World Service,
other apportioned funds, and conference benevolences.
The 1948 General Conference of the Methodist Church began the Advance as a
quadrennial plan. After World War II, Christians everywhere were called to help rebuild
a physically and spiritually broken world. The Advance for Christ and His Church became
a regular program of the Methodist Church in 1952 and of The United Methodist
Church in 1968, with the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United
Brethren Church.
Today, more than 16,000 United Methodist congregations collectively send more
than 100,000 General Advance gifts for thousands of ministries and missionaries in
more than 100 countries. Since 1948, the people called United Methodist have given
more than $1 billion for mission and ministry through the Advance for Christ and His
Church!
2. Why Should You Participate in the Advance?
You make the choice!
Do you want your second-mile mission giving to go to a particular country, project, or type of
ministry? Advance gifts can build churches, send missionaries, vaccinate children, feed the
hungry, shelter refugees, plant trees, comfort the sick, prepare new leaders, and share the
Good News of God’s amazing love. You choose what you want to support from more than
2,000 ministries and missionaries in more than 100 countries.
You do it within The