Bishop Dave Brown makes a point during the board's meeting.

Hope Is Strong Currency

Hopeful.

That one feeling permeated the World Church Finance Board recently as it met over a weekend to consider a new budget clouded by the economic recession.

To reach that optimistic state, the board looked to the past and gazed into the future before supporting a $24.73 million World Ministries budget for fiscal 2010, which will begin July 1. Approval by the fifty-plus members—a group from nine countries with some spots filled by position, such as apostles, and others by election—came June 14. It was just one day before the World Church trimmed staff members at International Headquarters and in the field because of the recession. The board mourned the losses, but still found encouragement.

In his opening remarks, President Steve Veazey quickly acknowledged the difficulties and then explained his hopeful attitude. “This year our actions and discussions take on an added seriousness as we attempt to navigate through the challenges of a serious global recession. Even in the midst of challenges we can find the capacity to praise the Lord…and move forward with the assurance that Christ is with us.”

Lest gloom pervade the weekend, he then lightened the mood by teasing President David Schaal, whose beloved Detroit Red Wings had lost the previous night in the National Hockey League finals.

President Schaal feigned pain and clutched his chest. But make no mistake: Neither President Schaal, nor the World Church, is mortally wounded. Despite the hardships—the budget is down more than $4 million—many expressed optimism at new working models that lean heavily on bi-vocational and self-sustaining ministers. Mission remains a priority.

Getting to that state of optimism wasn’t easy. Today’s Presiding Bishopric members even jumped back to the Great Depression to see how a counterpart from the 1930s, G. Leslie DeLapp, coped with declines. They found that many of his principles remain sound today.

And in a series of meetings that covered months, the Expanded World Ministries Coordinating Team gathered eight to ten times, looking at every option and every scenario from every viewpoint. Meanwhile, the recession became an ongoing headache for the Presiding Bishopric, which sought a baseline model to determine a sustainable budget.

“In a typical year,” Bishop Dave Brown explained, “we’ll go through five to eight versions as we change assumptions, go through the process, and see results from investments and contributions. This year we went through twenty-seven versions.”

Brown said this was one of the two most-difficult budgets from the last decade. The other was 2006, when the World Church reorganized. “At that time we acknowledged the budget had grown during the Transformation 2000 expansion to a point that it wasn’t sustainable. This time, no one could foresee a 35- to 40-percent drop in the investment markets. It’s the effect of that…on the endowments and reserve funds.”

In 2006 International Headquarters absorbed most of the cutbacks; this time the heaviest reductions came in the field.

Compounding the drop in investments for 2010, donations to World Ministries Mission Tithes lagged roughly $600,000 behind projections. Yet, Paul Davis of the Presiding Bishopric noted that local congregational giving has been up, as have donations to the Oblation and World Hunger funds.

“They have more than kept up with inflation,” Davis said of congregations, “while obviously World Ministries has not. The strength in World Mission Tithes is coming from people over fifty. The heroes of this story are the seventy-, eighty-, and ninety-year old people who are carrying the load.”

Davis said World Ministries has a base of about eighteen thousand contributors from the USA, Canada, and Australia.

“In the ’60s because the church went into other places it was challenged to broaden its view. We haven’t done that with our thinking of how people all over the world fund the ministries of the church.”

That dialogue certainly is taking place now. Ministers will emphasize the principles of A Disciple’s Generous Response to young adults and members in other countries.

In the meantime, the World Church plans to cope with the downsizing by shifting increasingly to bi-vocational and self-sustaining ministers.

Several leaders addressed that issue at the Finance Board meeting:

• President Schaal: “We are trying to align the gifts and calls of ministers to the place where they’re assigned. We’re going to become increasingly reliant on self-sustaining ministers. We will look to International Headquarters to develop training modules and applications that bi-vocational and self-sustaining ministers will need. We’re very positive about this.”

• Scott Murphy, director of human resources at International Headquarters: “The plan in the use of bi-vocational ministers is critical. The challenge will be how to support them in training, enabling them to be successful and help the life of mission.”

• Ron Harmon, apostle for the East Central USA Mission Field: “A number of us started moving in the (bi-vocational) direction even before the budget concerns. It comes down to where you’re putting your resources. We don’t want to put them in oversight. We want them in direct ministry.”

Several apostles offered stories of generosity by mission centers. Len Young, apostle for the North Atlantic Mission Field, told of three mission centers that are picking up the World Church share of the costs for positions. “So ministry on the East Coast largely is being borne by full-time ministers paid locally.”

And Susan Skoor, Pacific Mission Field apostle, told of one mission center fully funding two positions and then offering to help another area. “You had to have been there to experience the spirit of generosity. I think they would have funded the whole World Church if they could.”
That doesn’t mean the apostles don’t realize how deeply the downsizing will hurt.

“We will be left with nine employees in a field of ten countries,” said Carlos Enrique Mejia, apostle for the Central and South America Field. “But through all of this we continue to see a future with much faith and hope. We’re working to strengthen congregations that already exist. Stronger congregations will help the weaker.”

Apostle Bunda Chibwe said that growth in the Africa and Haiti Mission Field has not been a challenge. “Our challenge is to make them disciples who will share their treasures. We want to move each mission center toward self-funding.”

Then he summed up what many on the board felt: “Though it’s not easy to be here and talk…about how we’re going to accomplish our mission…I’m still a prisoner of hope. We will continue, no matter the obstructions in front of us.”

—Greg Clark reporting
To Contribute to World Church Ministries
Visit www.CofChrist.org/worldministries/


By the Numbers
A sampling of statistics from the 2010 fiscal budget that went into effect July 1:

• Of the roughly $4 million budget reduction, about $3.3 came from field operations, a 23-percent reduction.

• Investment returns for fiscal 2009 on the World Church’s marketable securities were down 23.3 percent through April. That compares with 35 to 40 percent in many other sectors.

• In terms of downsizing, eleven employees opted for early retirement, seven took voluntary separation, and forty lost their jobs.

• Local jurisdictions picked up funding for thirteen employees.

• International travel fell from $97,588 to $50,000, a 48.8-percent drop.

• The budget for the First Presidency slid from $30,326 to $20,326, a 33-percent decrease.