Leaders of Africa's United Methodist Student Movement issue clarifying statement

Available on GCORR's website is a clarification from African Student Movement leadership about their statement released in February.   The students are responding to emails and messages they received that their rejection of IOT and CTA was premature and not well thought out.  In this statement they explain their rational and thoughtfully clarify why they cannot support this proposal.

http://gcorrgc2012.org/response-from-the-africa-united-methodist-student-movement/


Here is an excerpt:

"So we ask you, is this not an attempt to redirect the vast resources of the church inwardly toward the church in the U.S. and to redirect the small amount of dollars that actually goes to the connectional agencies of the church, back to the U.S. church, a push to numerically increase the numbers in the church? For us as students, this appears to be counterintuitive. Reductions and eliminations of agencies that have particular and specific mandates, is not congruent with alignment.

It is simply impossible for us to believe that by redirecting $60 million USD out of $6.5 billion USD collected by the church in the U.S. each year, back toward the U.S. churches, that there will be an increase of numerical growth.

1% of the funds received by the church are invested in the connectional program agencies. That 1% is not enough but it is a start. We cannot support the logic of the CT/IOT that calls for a further reduction in funding to the agencies that do the connectional ministry of the church on the ground in Africa."

Will this realignment truly be a move that is best for the global church?  These students don't think so.