Since 1 July 2004, the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia form the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Middle Germany. In this way the limited financial and personnel resources of these two relatively small churches are pooled together. Many tasks are now being done jointly. The purpose of federating the two churches is not to downsize, but to create a strong evangelical church for the people of the region. The governing bodies are the synod of the federation and the federal leadership, as well as the joint offices at Eisenach and Magdeburg. The church office of the federation is the result of a new structure and a union between the office of the church in Thuringia and the consistory of the church province of Saxony. New common rules and statutes will become effective at the latest on 1 January 2009. In 2006 it was decided that from 2009 onward the two churches will merge, with one bishop and one head office.