wfn.org | Higher education and ministry agency sets new course for mission

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct.  22, 2002 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.	  10-71B{483}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)-The Board of Higher and Ministry adopted a plan
focusing on young people, rebuilding the educational pipeline, forming
faithful leadership and communications.

The directors of the agency responsible for church-related theological and
higher education approved a four-post strategy to lead the board down a
different path to accomplish the tasks mandated by the General Conference,
the denomination's top legislative assembly, during their Oct. 16-19 annual
meeting.

"Every new commitment marks not so much a break with our past as it
represents an effort to respond faithfully and creatively to the future to
which God beckons us," said the Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top staff
executive. 

The emergence of this new plan is the byproduct of a year's work examining
trends inside and outside the church and in society. Among the societal
trends identified were: the rapid changes in communications and technology;
global conflicts; an increase in spiritual and religious diversity; an
increase in young adults and college student populations; and an increase in
ethnic population, especially among Hispanics. 

One major trend developing in the United Methodist Church is the aging of
those attending church.  The average age of those attending United Methodist
churches in the U.S. is 56.  Researchers found that 39 percent of those who
attend United Methodist congregations in the country are 65 years or older.
When the age of those who attend United Methodist churches outside the
United States is factored, the average age is younger. 

A laundry list issues were analyzed and the board concluded that it needed
to focus its work on young people by rebuilding the "rusted pipeline,"
thereby forming faithful leaders for the church and world.

The plan notes an "alarming" absence of young people across the United
Methodist Church, especially in seminary and in leadership roles.  It also
noted a need for a focus on young people because young people value
spirituality, but lack denominational loyalty.	The board will create a task
force to cooperate and collaborate with other churchwide entities that focus
on young adults.

Board members concluded that rebuilding "the rusted pipeline" is critical to
the agency's work if it is to bequeath a vital and vibrant church to future
generations.  The pipeline is the system that produces Christian leaders.
"The United Methodist education pipeline, which once produced world-class
Christian leaders, is weakening in its ability to produce Christian
leaders," the plan notes.  It also states that United Methodists no longer
have the church's mission and ministry of higher education at the center of
the church's mission, but as an aside.	

"The church's connectional system is weakening because of the lack of a
clear sense of mission and vision, coupled with the absence of dynamic
leadership, program priority and efficient resource allocation," state the
plan's authors. 

In his state-of-the-board address, Del Pino said, "the fundamental state of
the board is good and it is getting better."  

Last year the board found itself in a precarious financial condition and
approved a 2001-2004 quadrennial budget that projected a "spend down" of up
to $2.5 million annually of  "so-called surplus reserves" to pay for new
programs, ministries and initiatives that were authorized but not fully
funded by the 2000 General Conference. One new ministry established a fund
to address theological education in Post-Communist Europe.

According to Del Pino, while the cost of the new ministries over the four
years was $3.08 million or $860,000 annually, the board's allocation from
the World Service Fund was reduced from the prior quadrennium. The World
Service Fund is the denomination's largest fund for churchwide ministries.

Reserves provide a financial cushion to protect or provide for cash flow,
maintain support through budget fluctuations, protect assets, fund major
repairs and serve as a hedge against market fluctuations. 

The board seeks to correct the financial imbalance by requesting an increase
of 42 percent or $7.1 million from the World Service Fund for the 2005-2008
quadrennium.  The board is asking for the increase to replace income lost
when it had to spend down "excessive reserve funds" and take a $2.8 million
reduction in World Service funds during the current quadrennium. The
increase also will help with increasing administrative costs and help the
division of ordained ministry in the distribution of the Ministerial
Education Fund to the seminaries. 

The "Gift of Hope: 21st Century Scholarship Program" was established in 1998
to provide $1,000 scholarships to 1,000 students during the 1999-2002
academic years. The program became one of the board's most popular
scholarships among students, local churches and campus ministers. It
recognized church leadership and provided financial assistance to students
attending any accredited institution.

Since the "Gift of Hope" began, 4,248 graduate and undergraduate students
have received financial assistance and the denomination's Office of Loans
and Scholarships noted that continuing the program beyond 2003 would require
the Board of Higher Education and Ministry to develop strategies to continue
it into another four years. During the Oct. 16-19 meeting, board members
approved the continuance of  the "Gift of Hope" scholarship program with
changes in criteria and new sources of funding be developed.

In other highlights, the board:
7	extended eligibility of the HANA Scholarship program to the
Methodist Church of Puerto Rico for the 2003-2004 academic year;  
7	affirmed and passed a resolution supporting the work of the National
Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church and other
higher education associations in urging the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to develop processes for the Student Exchange and Visitor
Information Service program that will be for international students and
manageable for colleges and universities to administer;
7	learned that at the end of 2001, more than $8.4 million in
scholarships and loans had been awarded to more than 5,500 students; and
7	agreed to request $10 million for the next quadrennium for a Global
Education Fund to address the emerging needs in central conferences that
require an emphasis on strengthening higher and theological education.
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United Methodist News Service
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