wfn.org | ABCUSA: Numbers of General Board Representatives Set for 2004 and

["SCHRAMM, Richard" <Richard.Schramm@abc-usa.org>]

2005

American Baptist News Service (Valley Forge, Pa. 11/15/03)--The American
Baptist Churches USA General Board voted yesterday to fix the number of its
regionally nominated representatives at 97 in 2004 and 94 in 2005, and to
fix the number of its nationally nominated representatives at 32 for both
2004 and 2005, producing a total General Board of 141 in 2004 and 138 in
2005.  These totals include the standard 12 ex officio or designated
representatives. 

The board responded to an action by Biennial Meeting delegates this June in
which a range was affirmed for the numbers of representatives for both 2004
and 2005.  

The downsizing of the board was one of several cost-saving measures approved
by the General Board. One of the realities of the adoption of the Common
Budget Covenant is a decrease in United Mission funding for representative
process beginning in 2004.  Last June the General Board held a first reading
on the proposals for cost savings, which included a proposal for downsizing
the General Board.  

Other approved cost-saving measures include: moving General Board
orientation from early spring to a time immediately preceding General Board
meetings (after 2004); affirming e-mail as the primary medium for
distribution of all General Board materials; discontinuing the subsidy that
the representative process pays for Biennial Meetings; asking regions to pay
one-half of the costs of General Executive Council/Regional Executive
Ministers Council for their regional secretary of ABCUSA at General
Board/GEC; and moving  all General Board meetings to Green Lake, Wis., in
2004-05 biennium, except the one preceding the 2005 Biennial Meeting. 

Additionally the representative process will be paying for one less program
board executive committee and no longer will be required to pay the World
Mission Support fee.

These measures, in total, are expected to reduce the representative process
costs by about $120,000.

K/2003ABNS/03ABN144

American Baptist News Service: Office of Communication, American Baptist
Churches USA, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851; (800)ABC-3USA x2077
/ (610)768-2077; fax: (610)768-2320; www.abc-usa.org;
richard.schramm@abc-usa.org