wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Detterick says leaner GAC is ready to do more with less

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8922 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05503
Sept. 23, 2005

Detterick says leaner, smarter GAC
is ready and able to do more with less

Expects recent strategic-planning work to pay off as money woes worsen

by Jerry L. Van Marter

SACRAMENTO - Although the General Assembly Council (GAC) will have to make
another round of budget and staff cuts in the near future, the mission agency
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is "on the threshold of great progress,"
Executive Director John Detterick told council members here on Sept. 21.

	Citing current GAC initiatives in long-range planning, governance,
mission funding and performance improvement, Detterick said he envisions "a
vibrant and responsive GAC, looking very different than it does today."

	Detterick, who plans to retire when his second four-year term ends
next summer, outlined the changes he anticipates in the next five to eight
years. He said the GAC will:

	Specialize in sharing expertise rather than material resources;

	Focus on networking rather than programming;

	Emphasize consulting with presbyteries, synods and congregations,
rather than generating programs and resources;

	Do more of its work out in the presbyteries.

	Detterick didn't mince words about upcoming budget and staffing
dilemmas. 

	"We've been through more budget reductions than we want to, and none
of us wants to go through another one," he said, "but it appears likely that
we'll do it again in 2007-2008."

	Previous budget cuts resulted from shortfalls in unrestricted giving
to the General Assembly's mission budget. This time, Detterick said, the
problems are exacerbated by a decline in restricted funds as well. 

	"We're determined that we won't go through the next budget reduction
the same way we've gone through it in the past," he said. "Until now, we've
divided up the shortfall and turned it over to the divisions to make the
necessary cuts. This time, we're going to look at it holistically. We're
going to determine what are the core activities that can only be done at the
General Assembly level, what is our core ministry and mission work."  

	Detterick invited council members to dream big, saying: "My
trepidation is that we, as staff, will be too timid, and that elected folks
won't be bold enough. But there's a vital and responsive future out there,
and I'm committed to embracing it with you."

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