wfn.org | Disciples General Board approves new funding system

["Communication Ministries" <wshuffit@cm.disciples.org>]

Date: July 23, 2002
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact:  Daniel Gangler, Church Finance Council
Phone: (317) 713-2408
E-mail: dgangler@cfc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, July 23, 2002 --  In an effort to support
financially the
2020 Vision of the church, the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ)
General Board overwhelmingly approved a new funding system
for the
common mission fund of the church.

Following a day-long discussion of a proposed funding
system and two
hours of debate, the 145-member General Board approved on
July 22 a
major overhaul of the present Basic Mission Finance funding
system. The
recipients are funded by the 3,700 Disciples congregations
across North
America. 

According to the new system, beginning in Jan. 2003, the
church will
designate its four Special Day offerings and will dissolve
both the
Commission on Mission Funding, and the Adjustment
(emergency) Fund.

The Team Leadership Conference BMF task force brought the
new
funding system proposal to General Board. It was the result
of two years
of research and negotiations with the Conference Leadership
Team made
up of leaders from each of the three BMF funded ministries
areas. Chris
Hobgood, regional minister of the Capital Area, chaired the
task force. In
Hobgood's absence, Earl Gibbs, former chair of the
Commission on
Mission Funding, brought the proposal to the General Board
on behalf of
the task force.  

At the heart of the new system is a new allocation of Basic
Mission
Finance. Beginning in 2003, BMF funds will be divided among
the
church's 76 recipients at the rate of 45 percent for
regional ministries, 45
percent for general ministries and 10 percent for higher
education
ministries. From 2004 to 2008 funds will continue to shift
from general
ministries to regional ministries at the rate of one
percent per year until
the percentages reach 50 percent for regional ministries
and 40 percent
for general ministries. Higher education will remain
constant at 10
percent. 

BMF recipients of the higher education funds were
represented during the
funding system discussion by George Hearne, president of
Eureka (Ill.)
College. He said the 22 Disciples-related colleges,
universities and
seminaries acknowledge their key role in the development of
lay and
clergy leadership for the transformation of the church. 

Another shift in the funding system will come with a
region's receipts
being based on a percentage of BMF contributions from
congregations in
every region rather than just receipts from a particular
region's
contributions.

During debate of the proposal, some regional ministers of
larger
membership regions pleaded with the General Board to
implement the
proposed system beginning in Jan. 2003 because the need for
fulfilling
their ministries to congregations is "urgent and crucial."
Thomas Jewell,
Oklahoma regional minister, told General Board members that
in the past
nine years, he has had to reduce his region's staff from 19
to 9. He said
under the present funding system, the percentage of dollars
returning to
Oklahoma continues to decrease year after year. "Oklahoma
cannot
accept any further reduction in funding," he said. Similar
stories were told
by other regional ministers.

Richard Spleth, Indiana regional minister, said, "if
regions have a loss of
operational funds in 2003, they can't implement changes for
new
churches." The BMF task force said one of the strongest
reasons for the
reallocation of percentages in the funding system was to
assist regions in
establishing new congregations, as well as providing for
programs to
revitalize existing congregations.

Danny Stewart, Mid-America (Missouri) regional minister,
agreed. He
said, "(this funding is an) extremely urgent matter to deal
with regions
now. We don't have enough workers in the fields to
implement new
church development."

Designated Special Day Offerings

One of the most significant changes in the new system comes
with the
General Board designating each of the four church-wide
Special Day
offerings for particular ministries. At present, particular
ministries are
highlighted on Special Days, but contributions received are
added to
regular BMF contributions. Last year $3.1 million or 12.7
percent of the
$24.5 million given by congregations to BMF, were received
in the four
Special Day offerings. 

Under the new system, Easter offerings will go to general
ministries for
Disciples mission imperative. Pentecost offerings will go
to new
congregation establishment (divided equally between the
region in which
it was contributed and Church Extension). Thanksgiving
offerings will go
to Disciples-related higher education ministries. Christmas
offerings will
go to regional ministries in the region where the funds are
contributed.
Offerings will continue to be implemented and promoted by
the Church
Finance Council.

Speaking on behalf of her general ministries colleagues,
Cindy
Dougherty, president of the National Benevolent Association
based in St.
Louis, said the new funding system is both a contract and
covenant
among BMF recipients. She said she was very excited for the
Disciples of
Christ as faithful people undertaking a faithful process.
"For the first time
all the general-unit partners must sit down together and
allocate the
money (they receive through BMF)." Dougherty anticipates a
growth in
Special Day offerings because they will go to specific
ministries of the
church. 

End of Commission on Funding

According to the new funding system, the 12-member
Commission on
Mission Funding, which presently determines the allocation
to each of the
76 recipients within the pool of available funds, will be
replaced by each
of the three ministries areas (general, regional and higher
education) with
each of these areas deciding among their own ministries how
funds are
allocated. Like the present funding system, allocations
will be approved
by the General Board.

Also like the present funding system, one percent of BMF
receipts off the
top will be available for Mission Imperative Fund grants.
But there will be
no Adjustment Fund for emergency funding. Each of the three
ministries
areas will provide for their own funding emergencies within
their groups.
According to the BMF task force which drafted the new
system, the
regional ministries have discussed setting aside one-half
percent of their
share to be utilized each year.  

Implementation team to be appointed

The General Board also approved General Minister and
President
Richard Hamm, of Indianapolis, and Moderator Alvin Jackson
of
Washington, D.C., to appoint an Implementation Task Force
of the
General Board that will include some of the members of the
BMF task
force. 

The Implementation Task Force will develop a time line for
implementation, interpretation and promotion of funding
system changes
to congregations. The task force also will deal with
unresolved questions
and formulate a recommendation for capital campaigns that
are restricted
under the present funding system. The General Board also
agreed to
review this new funding system in one year.

What will the new funding system cost? According to Lois
Artis, Church
Finance Council president, implementing the new system will
cost
approximately $150,000. She said that CFC is due for a new
accounting
system and was waiting for this decision to be made before
moving
ahead. Now that the decision has been made, she said the
CFC staff
would begin the transition in systems and technology needed
to
implement the new funding system. 

Now that the new BMF funding system has been approved by the
General Board, it needs approval by two-thirds of the
boards of general,
regional and higher education ministries areas. All boards
are scheduled
to report their decision to the Church Finance Council by
Nov. 20, as
agreed upon in the proposal. If approved by the boards, CFC
will
implement the new funding system beginning in Jan. 2003. 

                    -- end --
                        
02-72

Church Finance Council
Contact: Daniel R. Gangler, communication director
(317) 713-2408
dgangler@cfc.disciples.org