Ministry Council Summary of Actions (28-29 January, 2011)

  1. The Ministry Council met Friday and Saturday, January 28-29, 2011, at Faith Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Bartlett, TN. The Council and Ministry Teams met concurrently on Friday morning and jointly during the rest of the time.
  2. Joint Sessions of the Ministry Council and the Ministry Teams (staff and elected) included hearing presentations by each Team Leader on the work of our ministries followed by questions and answers. Other activities of the Joint Session over the two days included time to address challenges of the Council and various teams; presentation of Missions opportunities by Bob Watkins, update from the Evangelism Task Force, and small group sessions to re-imagine ministries followed by a time of sharing with the total group. All participated in a Year of the Clergy Reception.
  3. Sixteen of the twenty-one Ministry Council members were present (John Shoulta resigned reducing the number of voting members to 14). Members: Karen Breeding, Jill Carr, Michele Gentry de Correal, Troy Green, Carlton Harper, Elizabeth Horsley, Toni Prosser, Gwen Roddye, Sam Romines, Iwao Satoh, Roy Shanks, (Excused: Mandy Clark, Rickey Page, Lisa Scott,); Youth Advisory Members: Ricky Kirby, Emma Shoaf (Excused: Madison Rush); Advisory Members: Sam Suddarth, Harry Chapman (Excused: Michael Sharpe, Boyce Wallace); Director of Ministries: Edith Gholson. Also present: Megan Warren.
  4. Introduced Megan Warren, Executive Assistant to the Director of Ministries, who began work January 11, 2011, filling the position vacant since November 1.
  5. Due to the continued and astronomically increasing health insurance costs, reaffirmed the October 2010 decision that the Ministry Council will continue to fund 100% of Council and Team staff member (employee) premiums and that the Ministry Council implement budgetary guidelines that would require current Ministry Council Staff to pay 10% of their dependent premiums in 2012; 20% in 2013; 30% in 2014, and 100% in 2015 and following. Dependent coverage has traditionally been fully provided for employees who need it. However, for those who do not, there has been an inequity in benefits. Further, it was decided that the Ministry Council will not offer the dependent coverage benefit to new hires effective January 28, 2011, as another step taken to curb costs in the interim.
  6. Determined that structuring the new Website is a priority, and authorized Edith Gholson to contract web assistance to help with designing the new website. The target date for the website to be up and running is June 20, 2011 for unveiling at General Assembly. The goal is a better way to communicate with the church at large and others who are interested in the work of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
  7. Received reports from each Ministry Team.
  8. Received the Report of the Director of Ministries reviewing the past three month. The Director of Ministries and Bob Watkins invested three weeks to visit four of the seven Asian countries where the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is currently in active ministry. A quick “snapshot” of successful outcomes from the visit:

    1. Initiated and deepened personal relationships with 100-plus lay leaders and pastors.
    2. Explored ways that all MC teams can better serve the Asian constituency.
    3. Encouraged and strategized with missionaries, Glenn Watts, RheAnn White, David and Sarah Lee, and the three church planters in Cambodia.
    4. Preached and taught in all four countries.
    5. Visited eight of ten churches in Hong Kong Presbytery and ten of thirteen churches in Japan.
    6. Visited one church plant in Cambodia and one church in Laos.

    9. The Director of Ministries reported working with MC Staff to conduct “desk audits” to review current processes, consider new methods and more effectively use staff and financial resources.

  9. Discussed and made unanimous decisions regarding needs and position descriptions based on a confidential report including recommendations from the Director of Ministries. Background information came from (1) observations during the Director’s 2½ years with the Council, (2) performance reviews, (3) jobs descriptions, (4) desk audits, and (5) input from the Ministry Council Executive Committee, Team Leaders, and Team Members. Discussion included better use of human resources with the acknowledgement that Our United Outreach (OUO) goals have not been met in the past few years, with no increases on the horizon, resulting in less funds for the work of the Ministry Council. Implementation of new computer software has made many processes more efficient throughout the center, and the change in the structure of the church almost four years ago has provided the opportunity to share human resources and equipment in a better way; making us much better stewards of all our resources than ever before. Decisions included:

    1. Discontinue the Office Assistant position for the Missions Ministry Team Office effective June 30, 2011. Tasks that cannot be absorbed by remaining staff will be contracted out to local vendors less expensively, i.e. seasonal bulk mail projects.
    2. Move the Missions Ministry Team Communications and Publications position under the Communications Ministry Team effective July 1, 2011. In addition to providing art services, this position will coordinate printing (on demand, outsourced, etc.) of all Ministry Council/Team publications to affect measurable cost-saving measures and greater impact of deliverables.
    3. Reduce the Missions Ministry Team Receptionist/Secretary position to a part-time position effective June 30, 2011.
    4. Add a part-time Clerical Assistant position to be shared 10 hours per week by Communications and 10 hours per week by Pastoral Development effective June 30, 2011. This position could be combined with the MMT Receptionist/Secretary position to create a full-time position. New job title(s) and descriptions will be written before the Ministry Council’s April meeting.
    5. The Discipleship Ministry Team Leader position remains open at this time, with Discipleship Staff and the Director of Ministries performing that position’s job functions in the interim. Filling this position and revising the job description will be discussed in the August meeting.
    6. The Director of Church Growth & Evangelism position remains open at this time, with George Estes, Missions Ministry Team Leader, assuming these job responsibilities in the interim.
  10. Adopted, on the recommendation of the Director of Ministries, the proposal presented by MMT Leader George Estes in regard to the part-time position “Asian Consortium Facilitator” and “Missions and Ministry Council Fund Development Facilitator” (title set after adoption). This position will be assumed by Bob Watkins, current Director of Global Ministries, and becomes effective July 2011. The Global Ministries Director position will be assumed by Lynn Thomas, current Director of Cross Culture Ministries.
  11. Approved that each year an Orientation Session of new Ministry Council Members and new Elected Team Members be scheduled in August immediately preceding the first Ministry Council/Ministry Teams meeting following General Assembly; and that following the Ministry Council orientation session, the Team Members break out into groups with their individual Team Leaders for team-specific orientation. Team Leaders will provide a list of team member expectations and responsibilities when contacting new Elected Team Members.
  12. Agreed to create the Unified Publications Task Force to bring recommendations on how to create a single source unified publication to represent the denomination, in order to improve both stewardship and functionality. The Task Force will be composed of the Director of Ministries, the four Team Leaders or their designated representatives, and up to two at-large with Mark J. Davis as convener. The target date for final report is January 2012.
  13. Agreed that by the August 2011 meeting, the Team Leaders will provide to the Ministry Council information regarding : 1) endowments that could be combined, allowing greater earnings and therefore making greater funds available for ministry; 2) endowments that were designated for a program or ministry that is no longer alive which could be utilized for other ministries within the scope of the Ministry Council; and 3) any endowments that are not program specific but are generally directed to an area of ministry.
  14. Announced that the Ministry Council will sponsor a breakfast at General Assembly with the theme “The Year of the Clergy” on Wednesday morning, June 22, 2011, at 7:00 a.m. with Ministry Council Members serving as volunteer table hosts.
  15. Appointed Sam Romines as alternate representative to the Our United Outreach Committee. Noted that the Ministry Council will not request an increase in allocation from the OUO Committee for 2012.
  16. Elected Jill Carr, Representative to General Assembly in Springfield MO, June, 2011. Also elected Sam Romines as Alternate and Elizabeth Horsley as Assistant.
  17. Assigned Troy Green and Sam Romines to expand the items listed as Ministry Team Elected Team Member Responsibilities reported in the 2010 General Assembly Minutes and report back to the Council in April.
  18. Following input from the Ministry Teams regarding meeting dates, the formula for Ministry Council Meetings has been revised from four to three meetings as follows:

  19. Ministry Council will meet April 15-16, 2011 (Friday morning through Saturday afternoon) at the Center in Cordova