Cullowhee UMC serves the Lord through scores of ministries supported by the budget. These ministries serve within and beyond the walls of Cullowhee. Our proposed budget for 2026 is shown below in terms of major ministry groupings. There are many areas of ministry being supported at past or higher levels of funding. The 2026 proposed budget of $425,389 is a 2.3% increase over the 2025 budget, requiring total pledges of estimated giving to increase by 3.75%. To reach our goal, we need you to faithfully consider helping us by making a pledge.
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Worship – $76,570 (18 cents of every dollar)
Investment in diverse and high quality worship experiences will continue to be a priority for ministry funding in 2026. Two worship services 33 Sundays of the year, a combined service 19 Sundays of the year, and a number of specially designed worship experiences provide a solid center for our life as God’s people. Cullowhee’s music program, tech team, and worship leadership have grown to support these multiple approaches to praise the true and living God.
Missions and Service – $85,078 (20 cents of every dollar)
CUMC continues its commitment to be a “hands on” church, present and active in and around the community. Through our apportionment giving to the district, conference and general UMC we help to support countless ministries locally and globally. We also contribute finances, space, transportation and the willing hands and feet of our congregation to more than 20 different organizations, impacting he elderly, opportunity youth, summer literacy students, the food insecure, victims of child abuse, those impacted by natural disasters and many more.
Youth Ministries – $34,032 (8 cents of every dollar)
CUMC seeks to provide youth with connection and spiritual growth. The plan for the upcoming year is to live into our themes of “Gather, Grow, and Give.” We hope to develop more opportunities for youth to feel the presence of God in their lives. With your help, CUMC will continue to be instrumental in reaching local young people with the message of Jesus’ love and raising up a new generation of Christian leaders who learn the importance of service. This year we seek to hire an additional hourly youth assistant to help current staff as our youth ministry continues to grow.
College Ministries – $34,031 (8 cents of every dollar)
Cullowhee UMC is unique in that we actually house a Wesley Foundation, but we do far more than share a building. While our campus ministry has its own board of directors and budget, we partner with them in ministry. Wesley continues to be a vital resource as the constant inflow of new students keeps our worshiping and missional life vibrant and active. We even share and support some of the same staff members with Wesley, which not only frees up financial resources for our respective ministries but also creates a bridge between CUMC and the Wesley Foundation.
Children’s Ministries – $25,524 (6 cents of every dollar)
JOY Kids exists to reach out to children with the message of God’s unconditional love, guiding them to grow into a relationship with Jesus Christ and nurturing in them a heart to serve. We provide a safe, secure and age appropriate environment where children from age 2 through 5th grade are nurtured, loved, and taught of God’s love. JOY Kids also educates children in the missional/service value of CUMC through service opportunities once a month. Through these acts of service, God is using JOY Kids to spread His love.
Preschool – $25,523 (6 cents of every dollar)
Cullowhee Kids is a ministry of CUMC where we provide a safe, secure and loving preschool environment. Cullowhee Kids has its own board of directors, budget, and growing endowment, all of which help us to provide childcare for families in a loving, Christian atmosphere. Our motto is “growing mighty oaks from little acorns.” Five staff and seven additional workers welcome, care for, and educate an average of 30 children every year. God is using Cullowhee Kids to create a Christian foundation in the lives of our county’s young people. This year our preschool estimates we will give out over $4,000 a month in scholarships to families in our community!
Congregational Care – $51,045 (12 cents of every dollar)
To have a solid foundation for impacting the world, we must be sure that we are effectively equipping and caring for the members of our church community. This area is critical to the fulfillment of our mission. Growing initiatives in this area include a young families group, our Perennials group for seniors, Healthy Brain Club, ongoing adult Sunday School, “Whee Gather” meals, and the development and support of our leaders. The vision of a new initiative, “‘Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” is to offer care not only to congregants but also to others.
Support – $42,539 (10 cents of every dollar)
This provides for office staff and administrative costs necessary to support the above growing ministries. Good management and faithful volunteers help to keep the growth in this area down. The need to manage time, space and resources as well as communicate about our many ministries is what drives the expenses in this area.
Building – $51,047 (12 cents of every dollar)
To support CUMC’s ministry as well as the many programs that call us home, our space must be warm, bright, clean, and welcoming 7 days a week and 14 hours most days. As you think about all the ministry groupings above, the common denominator is often our facilities and how they serve as both your community hub and spiritual home