Adventist Financial Officers Praise God, Commit More Funds for Mission

Treasurer’s Report at Spring Meeting highlights careful management of church’s funds.

April 21, 2026 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review

“It is my privilege to report that the financial position of the General Conference, as of December 31, 2025, is strong,” said General Conference (GC) treasurer Paul H. Douglas on the opening of his Treasurer’s Report April 14. The report, presented to the members of the GC Executive Committee (GC EXCOM), highlighted the main financial indicators and shared key figures during the first day of the Spring Meeting at the world church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

“We praise the Lord for the strong financial position, considering the prevailing global economic conditions,” Douglas told church leaders, adding that “we’ve been faithful stewards of the resources God has provided to advance the cause of His kingdom.” At the same time, however, he stressed that the financial strength of the GC is “not because of our own accomplishment.” It is rather “God’s divine purpose to provide us what we need to do His work,” he said. “We are strong because God is strong.”

Well Above Budgeted Amounts

In the next few minutes Douglas reported on the main figures of the financial activity in 2025. They included the US$89 million representing the share of tithe moneys that the world headquarters received from around the world to fund its activities. The figure was $2 million more than the budgeted amount, and similar to the amount received in 2019, which is considered “the last normal year” before the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also $3 million more than the $86 million received in 2024, he reported.

Offerings, on the other hand, amounted to $101 million, $14 more than the $87 million budgeted for the year and $24 million more than in the reference year of 2019. Overall, a pattern can be seen in which offerings represent an increasing percentage of funds received, Douglas reported. While in 2021, offerings amounted to 44 percent of funds used by the General Conference to carry out its activities, in 2025 they reached 53 percent of the total amount, he said. “The continuing shift . . . suggests that interest in the global mission of the church is being reignited in the hearts and minds of our members.”

In that sense, Douglas anticipated that as a consequence of this trend in offerings, work at local levels “will become more prosperous because of the purposeful attention being afforded to the global work.”

Higher Expenses in Mission

Regarding program expenses, Douglas reported that 46 percent of the total amount was used for mission strategy and support, 17 percent for media and publications, and 17 percent in leadership development and accountability. Eight percent was invested in educational institutions, while another 12 percent was applied to other activities.

“Total program expenses were approximately $20 million, or 11 percent more, than in 2024,” Douglas said. This includes expenditure of funds that were donor restricted for prescribed purposes, funds sent to church regions as assistance for special projects, and funds for response to emergencies.

Overall, however, Douglas reported a $25 million increase in net assets driven largely by $27 million in investment income.

More Funds for Mission

Looking forward, Douglas reported that his team has been analyzing the pattern of tithes and offering contributions, finding that “what we expected has not happened,” as actual amounts “have exceeded our [budgeted] expectations.” In case that trend continues, the GC has developed a plan to use those extra funds. Those plans include providing 50 percent of the increase so the Strategic and Budget Committee can “make collective decisions for the world church toward investing in strategic mission priorities.” The rest would be “returned to the world divisions” so they can apply those funds to their mission priorities.

Overall, Douglas highlighted how much care financial officers take to make sure that the position of the GC is strong. It’s something important, he emphasized, because the GC “must be positioned to financially support the church’s global strategic priorities” and “must be capable of . . . [meeting] emergencies and [addressing] unusual opportunities.” Also, the GC “must be seen as a model of financial strength and stability,” he said. “We praise God for the position we are in now.”

Careful Planning and Execution

After Douglas, GC undertreasurer Ray Wahlen reported on the operating expense cap, or the maximum amount of funds that, per policy, the GC may spend on office operations in a year. This amount, set years ago at 2 percent of global tithe, requires careful planning, financial officers explained. In his report Wahlen celebrated being able to report that in 2025, expenses have been kept below that cap, reaching just 91.16 percent of the annual limit. This reflects a 4.6 percent increase in tithe received in the local churches around the world in 2025, he said.

It was not an easy task but a result of a careful approach, Wahlen explained, as the United States has experienced significant increases in the cost of living over the past few years. “We thank the Lord for the practice of faithful stewardship . . . despite these uncertain times,” he said. “We have no reason to fear for the future as we serve our generous God.”

Douglas supported Wahlen’s assessment. “We have no need to be uncertain, because we serve a certain God,” Douglas said. “We have everything we need to do the work He has call us to do.”

Record Funds for OneVoice27

As the church seeks to move forward, Douglas reminded GC EXCOM members that our commission is “to preach the gospel of the kingdom,” and that “we have to do it with one voice.” He then referenced OneVoice27, the “bold initiative” to commemorate 2,000 years since Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of His ministry by using all church media, leaders, and members to make an impact around the world in September 2027.

GC leaders, Douglas reported, had voted to invest at least US$27 million—$13.5 million from the GC and $13.5 million from church divisions—toward that initiative. When GC financial officers, however, counted all the commitments coming from divisions across the world, they found that the $13.5 million pledged from divisions has turned so far into $42 million. This would make OneVoice27 result in record investments for mission.

Douglas closed by quoting Adventist Church cofounder Ellen G. White, who in her book Gospel Workers wrote, “The Lord is coming, and we need to bend every energy to the accomplishment of the work before us. I appeal to you to give yourselves wholly to the work.”^[*]

Comments From the Floor

Comments from GC EXCOM and invitees included former GC president Jan Paulsen, who followed the proceedings from his home in Norway. “I want to commend Pastor Paul Douglas and his wonderful team for the great professional skills and the spiritual commitment that they manifest in looking after the resources of the church,” he said. “They need to be commended for that.”

At the same time, Paulsen asked whether the church has an ethics committee to discuss ethical considerations of investments. Douglas responded that the Investment Committee is guided by principles consistent with our beliefs when making investment decisions of church funds. “There are certain investments that we consider inappropriate or inconsistent with our values or beliefs that we would not include as part of our portfolio,” he assured him.

Former GC secretary G. T. Ng, who also followed the proceedings online, also congratulated the financial team “for the upbeat report.” “These are wonderful days that we witness with our eyes the mercies and blessings of God.”

Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the GC between 2010 and 2025, also went to the microphone to highlight the “amazing report” even in the midst of current challenges and uncertainty. He thanked Douglas and his team for “their careful management,” where “things are being contained, and yet mobilized for mission.”

Others lined up behind the mics with comments and questions, including West-Central Africa Division president Bassey Udoh, who said he wanted “to affirm the report” and praised the focus on “mobilizing resources for mission.”

South Pacific Division treasurer J. Francois Keet, on the other hand, called GC leaders to further increase funds for OneVoice27. “There are regions around the world that need your assistance,” he told them. Douglas agreed, telling him that he accepted the challenge. “If we are serious, we need to put the money where the mission is,” he told Keet.

Paulo de Tarcio, a young lay member from the South American Division following the proceedings online, celebrated how complex figures and data were communicated and shared his ongoing trust in God’s leading. “He is the one who has led His church this far, and He will continue to lead us in the darker days we have ahead.”

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^[*] Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1915), p. 115.