United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report

Wednesday, December 11, 2002 ­ Cincinnati, Ohio

             The Council of Elders began its last set of meetings for 2002 with the traditional operations reports, moved on to budget planning for the next fiscal year, and dealt with unfinished business from August by granting the Administration approval to purchase a small amount of property adjacent to the home office.

Presidentâs Report

             President Roy Holladay hit some recent highlights of Church activity in his report, which included developments such as:

á        Forty-five students have been accepted for the 2003 class of the Ambassador Bible Center; 43 have indicated their intention to come to Cincinnati in January. Discussions with university officials in West Virginia have led to their decision to accredit certain courses from ABC only at their institution, without the wider approval Gary Antion and the ABC staff had sought.

á        Media operations have been significantly enhanced with the installation of Version 11 of the Avid video editing system (upgraded from our older Version 7).

á        The newest home office employee, Aaron Booth, began work Monday, December 9 as managing editor for Internet operations.

á        The January-February 2003 issue of the Good News magazine will shortly go to press; print run is 440,000, down from a high of over 500,000 due to a massive renewal program for waiting room subscriptions.

á        Dave Baker, pastor in upstate New York, has been named senior pastor overseeing the churches in the Philippines, following the request of the Philippine National Council that its operations come under the jurisdiction of the home office.

á        Discussion with the Council of ãhot topicä sermon subjects, based on surveys of the U.S. field ministry; Sabbath conduct and observance top the list, followed closely by marriage and dating.

á        Suggested appointment of a task force to study the effect on the Churchâs budget of the anticipated growth in the numbers of retired employees in the next few years.

á        Mr. Holladayâs desire to see even more of a ãto the heartä appeal for action in our speaking and writing, following the lead of the early New Testament apostles. Victor Kubik will present material along these lines later in this round of meetings.

Ministerial Services

             Richard Pinelli spoke on the Feast of Tabernacles in 2002, the current ministerial manpower and church status, and the ministerial candidate program. 

            From all reports, the Feast this past year continued the trend since 2000, with a further sense of ãsettlingä in the church, increased attendance over the previous year, and fewer difficulties with which to contend. Attendance at all sites worldwide was 19,231, only slightly less than the all-time high for the United Church of God (19,699 in 1996). Four changes in Feast sites are planned for 2003: from Gatlinburg TN to Lexington KY; from Keystone to Steamboat Springs CO; from Kauai to Maui HI; and from Corpus Christi to Kerrville TX. 

            U.S. church congregation count still stands at 228, with the highest monthly average attendance for the year being 10,718, in March 2002 (lowest was 9,678 in July). The average is about 9,800-9,900. On Holy Days (excluding the Feast of Tabernacles), this typically increases by nearly 3,000. So far this year, over 1,300 people have contacted the United Church of Godâs pastors for the first time, with nearly 600 of these having no previous Sabbath-keeping background. Baptisms for the year to date total 208 through November, more than 2001âs entire annual result of 154.  

            In terms of ministerial manpower serving the U.S. churches, two church circuits are still without resident pastors, and pastoral health concerns affect yet three more areas. Four new hires have been added in 2002, with one more possible by fiscal yearâs end (June 30, 2003). With retirements, deaths, resignations and moves to international areas in the last 4+ years, there has been a net loss of 11¸ field minister positions in the United States (one man serves half-time in the Editorial Department, and half-time pastoring a church). The Pastoral Annual Review Process is now in place for all U.S. field ministers, with good results. As the program develops, stages 3 and 4 (performance appraisal meeting with supervisor, and congregational input) may be changed to every other year or even every third year in frequency, rather than annually, as at present.  

            The Ministerial Candidate Program got off to an excellent start over the Labor Day weekend, with 18 couples present for the 5-day seminar at the home office August 29-September 2. Mr. Pinelli estimates another 20 couples or so may be considered for invitations to the 2003 August/September training sessions.  

Treasurerâs Report 

            Tom Kirkpatrick began his report by noting that Category One income (general donations) is now up to 1.8% increase for the fiscal year to date (through December 10). Our budget called for a modest increase of 2.38% in this category. The four Holy Day offerings already ãon the booksä have shown a pleasantly surprising surge of $115,000 over projections. Other miscellaneous income (with a much smaller budgetary impact) is down slightly.  

            Certain notable patterns snagged his attention, and Mr. Kirkpatrick shared them with the Council. Response to the Bible Study Course has been so good that it will be ãhopelessly over budgetä for the year! But the amount involved is a small percentage of the greater Media budget, which looks to be on target as a whole for the (fiscal) year. And of course, thatâs precisely the kind of ãproblemä we like to see ö responses greater than expected.  

            Other costs are not so benign. Employee health care costs, for example, continue to increase as stress and aging take their toll on ministers and other employees. Taken altogether, Mr. Kirkpatrick estimates the entire yearâs income from all sources might well come in at a miniscule 0.1-0.2% under budget. Expenses should also be slightly less than expected, with the result likely statistically evening out to enable the Church to stay within a balanced budget. At this point, he suggests caution, but no further action until the (calendar) year-end donation pattern is determined. 

Media Operations 

            Peter Eddington brought the Council up to date on activities within his purview. One large news item here is the massive renewal program for the waiting rooms that have been receiving the Good News magazine. Based on spot checks, we knew that only 30% of the subscribed waiting rooms were actually displaying the magazine; the renewal program only retained 8% of our previous list, slicing 100,000 magazines from the total print run. This will work to good advantage in the end, as the target goal of 500,000 print run for May-June 2003 is still well within reach, but now with a much higher percentage of the total going to individual subscribers. Compared to one year ago, the total is still up ö from 399,000 in November-December 2001 to 417,000 in November-December 2002. The cover theme for the January-February issue is ãWhat Does the Bible Say About the End of the World?ä Given current world conditions, ãthis subject should be a real attention-grabber among readers,ä Mr. Eddington believes. 

The current booklet title inventory stands at 29; the top six to date are (with total copies printed):

á        What is Your Destiny? (165,000)

á        The Book of Revelation Unveiled (131,000)

á        The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy (120,000)

á        You Can Understand Bible Prophecy (110,000)

á        What Happens After Death? (105,000)

á        Why Does God Allow Suffering? (104,000) 

Note that Number 3 on the list, ãThe United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy,ä is a fairly new title, with the first print run less than two years ago, in January 2001. Yet it is already our third-most requested title. 

ãOne new booklet is in the final stages of writing, and we hope to offer it in early 2003,ä Mr. Eddington reported. It will be titled ãThe Middle East in Prophecy.ä 

Other highlights from the Media report include:

á        Bible Study Course enrollment is now just over 21,000, with almost 3,500 graduates enrolled in the follow-up, 12-month audiotape program.

á        Good News radio program responses are down somewhat from last year, but six new stations have just been added.

á        Internet literature requests have topped 52,000 so far in 2002; the average request asks for four to five pieces of literature, so that 235,000 individual publications have been mailed out in response.

á        Total mail processed in 2002 is nearing 350,000 pieces, up about 3% over 2001. The count of individual pieces of donation mail is up 6% and Internet responses are up 63%.

á        The Internet Personal Correspondence team has been expanded and now includes 24 pastors who share the task, with two ãon dutyä each month. Internet messages have increased so steadily that it has become necessary to hire a part-time employee, Clarissa de Campos, to deal with the volume ö answering routine inquiries, directing the more involved messages to the Personal Correspondence team members on duty that month, and seeing that literature requests are filled.

á        Cable access TV continues to generate responses and new Good News subscribers.

á        United News and World News and Prophecy print runs have both increased this year ö by 5% and 15%, respectively.

á        Web site utilities now offer automatic e-mail updates to those who subscribe ö at the main UCG web site, the Good News web site, the Church web site for youth, and the newly introduced home office updates facility.

á        Donors and coworker lists continue to expand ö with over 4,100 donors and 1,800 coworkers now on file. 

In response to a question from Mr. Holladay, Mr. Eddington stated it is his belief that we will hit the target print run of 500,000 for the Good News by the May-June 2003 issue. Clyde Kilough asked whether some of the proposed article titles for future issues of the Good News will really grab readersâ attention ö this area will be discussed with Victor Kubikâs presentation on Thursday. John Jewell inquired about the feasibility of sending a notice to subscribers who have not renewed their subscriptions, to see whether there might be some appreciable response. Since the United Kingdom is currently using this approach, Mr. Eddington asked to be kept apprised of their results, in order to evaluate its possible use in this country.  

Budget Planning 

            Mr. Holladay next asked the Council for its collective view of priorities for next fiscal yearâs budget (2003-2004). In putting together major areas that would impact the budget above and beyond current program increases, the management team had discussed four, with their accompanying estimated ãprice tagsä:

á        Additional hires in the U.S. field ministry (up to six; four to replace retiring ministers and two to fill the currently vacant pastorates. Net increased cost: $315,000).

á        A 3%-5% pay raise for all employees (there has not been an across-the-board increase since the inception of the United Church of God in 1995. Cost: $280,000).

á        An increase in Good News circulation (to 550,000 copies. Cost: $200,000).

á        Regional pocket conferences in the United States (cost: $135,000). 

Mr. Holladay asked each Council member to arrange the four proposals in priority order, without regard to the cost ö which did they feel was most important, which second in importance, and so on. When tallied up, the priority the Council as a whole saw was in exactly the order listed above. Interestingly, the Councilâs perceptions precisely matched those of the management team at the home office. ãThis is our wish list,ä Mr. Holladay stated. Naturally, if there isnât sufficient increase granted by God, we may not be able to do any of them ö or perhaps only portions of them (such as only three hires, or only a 2% pay raise, for example). Mr. Holladay thanked the Council, and stated that its opinion would be factored in to the upcoming budget planning. 

Miscellaneous 

            A number of miscellaneous items completed the docket for this first day of meetings. Among them:

á        Approval by the Council for the Administration, by vote of 11-1 (Messrs. Antion, Dean, Franks, Horchak, Jewell, Kilough, Kubik, McCullough, Seiglie, Thompson, and Walker in favor, Mr. Dick opposed) to purchase the adjacent property (just over three acres) to the west of the home office for the price of $1 from the area developer (the offer is ãon the tableä until March 31). Church legal counsel Larry Darden voiced  concern about the legal ramifications of the lack of a Phase 2 environmental study on the property in question (which concern Mr. Dick shared), but the majority of the Council believed the Phase 1 study on the entire property and the Phase 2 study on the portion currently owned was sufficient protection. In a related ballot, the Council gave permission for Mr. Holladay and Mr. Kirkpatrick to act to acquire the property, by a ballot of 11 in favor (as above), with Mr. Dick abstaining.

á        Review of Human Resource policy on reimbursement of meals and incidental expenses incurred by employees traveling on church business. The current policy was deemed appropriate ö no changes were made.

á        By a ballot of 9-3 (Messrs. Antion, Dean, Dick, Franks, Horchak, Kilough, Kubik, Seiglie, and Thompson in favor: Messrs. Jewell, McCullough, and Walker against), the Council then adopted as its own policy the same guidelines on travel reimbursement as in the Churchâs Human Resources manual. A separate Council policy was needed since not all Council members are employed by the Church and are, as a result, not covered under its HR policies.  

Doug Johnson

© 2002 United Church of God, an International Association