What should the 2017 and 2018 mission budget for the Presbyterian Church (U.SA.) look like?
What should the configuration of the Presbyterian Mission Agency board be – including how big should the board be, and how should its members be selected?
Those are among ongoing questions up for discussion – and the board’s executive committee, meeting Nov. 19 by conference call, discussed the process by which those questions might be brought forward.
Budget
The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board is proceeding with the task of developing its new mission work plan. The board is expected to vote on that plan at its Feb. 3-5 meeting in Louisville, and on the PC(USA)’s 2017 and 2018 mission budget when the board meets April 27-29.
Both staff and elected groups involved with the process are considering questions of vision, mission, directional goals and core values, said Barry Creech, director of policy, administration and board support for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Creech said that the staff group has had considerable conversation around the question of “why do we serve?” The last time the board developed a mission work plan, some felt “issues of theology and Scripture were added on at the end,” and not considered early enough, he said.
The board also has been conducting focus groups to consider questions such as these:
- Why does the PC(USA) need national offices?
- What does it mean to be a connectional church?
- How does the Presbyterian Mission Agency help congregations do work they could not do on their own?
Restructuring
The executive committee discussed whether to ask the board’s nominating and governance subcommittee to consider the question of board restructuring. That’s a broad subject, which board vice chair Jo Stewart said could involve matters such as these:
- The size of the board;
- The board’s composition – including how its members are selected;
- Length of service of board members;
- The roles and responsibilities of board members; and
- The board’s committee structure.
There is concern about the structure because board members also are asked to fill 80 slots on other boards or committees across the church as Presbyterian Mission Agency Board representatives or liaisons – roughly two slots each for each board member.
Some of those matters (for example, the size of the board) are determined by the General Assembly – and board chair Marilyn Gamm said she doubted there would be time for the board to consider the matter and present any proposal for change to the 2016 General Assembly.
At the executive committee’s next conference call in January, Stewart is expected to present language for a proposal for the committee to consider referring the matter to its nominating and governance subcommittee for its consideration.
DREAM Grants
The board approved grants to seven projects for the first funding cycle of 2015. These are one-time grants for no more than $10,000 – money that was part of the last $500,000 left in 2013 in what was formerly known as National Mission Partnership Funding.
The DREAM (Developmental, Research, Experimental, Adaptive Mission) Fund began in 2014. Originally, the grants – intended to support new and creative projects – were restricted to four synods; now all 16 are eligible to apply.
Background on DREAM grants and the recipients can be found here.
