How the Sabbath offering calendar works
Every Sabbath, most Adventist churches receive an offering, and the bulletin usually says which one. That sounds simple until you ask who decides. The answer has layers, and knowing them helps you find the right calendar and keep your bulletin right.
This is a general explanation. Details differ between regions, so treat your own conference as the final word.
The layers
The Adventist church is organised in levels. At the top is the General Conference, which serves the whole world church. Below it are divisions, which cover large regions, such as the North American Division. Under a division are unions, and under unions are conferences, which are the groups of local churches most members think of as their "conference".
The offering calendar follows those levels. A division sets a base calendar of Sabbath offerings, and a union or conference can adjust it for its own region and add its own. The result is a calendar for each conference.
What kinds of offering appear
Some Sabbaths are set aside for work that reaches across the world church, such as world missions. Some are for regional or local needs, such as a conference's evangelism or youth programs. Some are for the local church's own budget. A calendar normally shows one named offering for each Sabbath of the year, with a few weeks left open for the local church.
The special Sabbath School offering, such as the one received on the thirteenth Sabbath of each quarter, is separate from this list, and the Sabbath School quarterly says where it goes.
Why it matters for the bulletin
People give to the offering they are told about. If the bulletin names the wrong one, money can go to the wrong place, and the church treasurer has to sort it out afterwards. It is one of the small facts in a bulletin where being wrong has a cost.
Where to find your calendar
- Your conference or union website, often under "treasury" or "resources".
- Your church treasurer, who usually receives it before the year starts.
- Your pastor or conference office, if neither of those has it.
Keep the file where the bulletin builder can find it, and note the year at the top. A new one arrives every January.
Keeping the bulletin right
A paper calendar is easy to misread when you have it open beside the schedule. A row slipped, the date is off by a week, and the wrong offering goes out. If you build the bulletin by hand, check the offering against the calendar last, after everything else is done, and let someone else check it again.
Bulletin Generator can pull the offering for each Sabbath from a calendar stored in the app and fill it in for you. Churches can also override any week, for a local special. If you want to see how that works, you can ask to try it.
Common questions
Where do I find my church's offering calendar?
Ask your conference office or treasurer. Many conferences post the calendar on their website near the start of the year.
Do all churches receive the same offering on the same Sabbath?
Not always. Churches in the same conference usually follow the same calendar, but another conference or union can set a different one.