April 15-16, 2016

April 15-16, 2016

1. The Corporate Board of the Ministry Council met for its annual meeting Friday and Saturday, April 15-16, 2016, at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Center, Cordova, TN.

   Seventeen of the nineteen Ministry Council Members and Staff were present.  Members:  Rev. Donny Acton, Ken Bean, Rev. Jill Carr, Rev. Michele Gentry de Correal, Rev. H. Troy Green, Elizabeth Horsley, Rev. Lanny Johnson, Rev. Philip Layne,  Rev. Paula Louder,  Rev. Ron McMillan, Adam McReynolds, Gwen Roddye, Rev. Sam Romines, Rev. Tom Sanders. Youth Advisory Members:  Emily Mahoney, Caleb Davis (Excused: Carolina Gillis); Advisory Members: (Excused: Rev. Michael Sharpe.)   Director of Ministries:  Edith Old.  Also present were Team Leaders Rev. Chuck Brown, Rev. Elinor Brown, Mark J Davis, Rev. Dr. Milton Ortiz.

2. Received updated financial reports presented by Dan Scherf, CAD. Eleven distributions of Our United Outreach receipts have been made thus far in 2016. The Ministry Council portion of the annual audit has been successfully completed, and the entire audit will be completed prior to General Assembly.
3. Heard the report of Our United Outreach Committee Representatives—Adam McReynolds reported that several Our United Outreach Regional Director positions have been created and are being filled. Our United Outreach Goal remains $2,800,000.
4. Received 2017 proposed budget, revised to reflect budget by programs. Commended the Global Ministries Leadership Team (GMLT) for their cooperative work in making the necessary changes to the budget and to the report.  Named Rev. Tom Sanders, Rev. Philip Layne, Rev. Donny Acton, and Rev. Paula Louder to a subcommittee tasked with assisting MMT in evaluating several specific programs and bring recommendations about appropriate adjustments to budgeted support.
5. Participated in a Leadership Training segment led by Rev. Jill Carr regarding Meeting Dynamics.
6. Adopted changes to Missionary Crisis Policies in response to changes in policies of the US government.
7. Approved recommendation of a new manual, Guidelines for Congregations Considering Merger, for approval by General Assembly.
8. Agreed to recommend to General Assembly that in order to present a more complete overview of work throughout the denomination, those Cumberland Presbyterian institutions outside the USA provide written reports and/or representatives to General Assembly and be assigned to GA Committees, in addition to the four US institutions currently reporting: Memphis Theological Seminary, Bethel University, the Historical Foundation, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Children’s Home.
9. Voted to recommend to General Assembly that responsibility for Leadership Referral Services be shifted from Missions Ministry Team to Pastoral Development Ministry Team.
10. Adopted changes to the Ministry Council Personnel Policy to allow Ministry Council Staff to accept secondary employment with approval.
11. Appointed a Servant Empowered Leadership Task Force that will focus on strategically and actively disseminating and implementing the principles of Servant Empowered Leadership throughout the church. The Task Force includes: Rev. H. Troy Green, Rev. Tom Sanders, Edith Old and Emily Mahoney.
12. Heard explanation of the new streamlined format for Ministry Council reports to General Assembly, providing information about new programming and requests for action by GA. Reviewed a new resource developed to provide information about current programming and resources which will be available in hard copy and online to Commissioners and others.
13. Received the report of the Director of Ministries and adopted its recommendations, which included MC members serving as MC booth hosts at General Assembly, recording of MC members’ faith stories, and participation in the 2016 Evangelism Conference at General Assembly.
14. Participated in a video conference with Rev. Christian Smith regarding the ministry of Cookeville Cumberland Presbyterian Church to special needs children and their families.
15. Agreed to recruit and appoint a Cumberland Presbyterian with either CPA or CMA credentials to serve as Ministry Council Financial Consultant.
16. Participated in a service project, Sole Hope, preparing materials to provide 24 pairs of shoes to protect Ugandan children from parasites and injury and collecting $250 in donations toward the stitching of the shoes, providing income to underemployed Ugandans.
17. Participated in a Leadership Development segment on Empathy led by Gwen Roddye.
18. Recognized members rotating off: Jill Carr, Elizabeth Horsley, Gwen Roddye, Rev. Sam Romines, Youth Advisory Members Emily Mahoney and Carolina Gillis. Heard reflections of the four members who have served the entire nine years the MC has been in existence, recalling the efforts to create a new denominational structure and detailing the progress that has transpired.
19. Approved budget for 2017, and expressed appreciation to the Director and Team Leaders for presenting a balanced budget in a clear format that makes it easy to evaluate costs of programs.
20. Voted to adjust meeting schedule based on changes to Bylaws pending approval by General Assembly. Concurrent Meeting of Ministry Council and Ministry Teams will be the 4^th weekend in October (Saturday/Sunday, October 22-23, 2016) and Ministry Council will meet with Team Leaders on the last weekend of February (Friday-Saturday, February 24-25, 2017) Orientation for New Ministry Council Members and Elected Ministry Team Members will be accomplished prior to the October meeting dates.