The United Methodist General Conference voted on Tuesday to ask for less money from local churches to support the national and international denominational structure.

The proposed $353 million budget is a 42 percent reduction.

Facing increased financial strain and budget cutbacks, the denomination was considering a drop from asking 3.29 percent of every church’s budget, down to 2.9 percent.

Instead, the conference voted to adopt a minority report that the denomination should only ask for 2.6 percent of local church budgets for the next two years.

Final approval of the budget isn’t expected until the final day of the General Conference, on Friday, May 3.

The effects of a quarter of all United Methodist churches disaffiliating remains to be seen.

“That is still an unknown,” said Don House, a Texas economist who said remaining churches have suffered and need to be burdened less. Don House put forth the proposed reduction to 2.6 percent request of churches, called apportionments.

The lowering of the percentage requested for apportionments for each church to 2.6 percent was approved by a vote of 455 to 266.

“One thousand dollars goes a long way to a small church,” said Jon Copeland, a delegate from Lafayette Park United Methodist Church in St. Louis. He called the reduction “welcome relief.”

Amy King of North Georgia said that while the denomination’s unrestricted net assets have increased from $126 million to $509 million, her church never knows from week to week if its air-conditioning unit will work.

House said that in 2016, churches paid 91.8 percent of apportionments.

In 2022, that was down to 73.7 percent. In 2024, it’s down to 68.5 percent.

“That’s not a healthy engine” of church giving, he said.

In 2004, churches were required to send 4.137 percent of their income to support the denomination, House said. Decreasing the amount asked should increase the percentage of compliance, he said.

Delegates agreed that if churches give at a rate of 90 percent or more of their apportionments in 2025 and 2026, the rate will be raised to 2.9 percent in 2027 and 2028.