By Edward Terry, The Layman

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, Tenn. – Speaking on behalf of Evangelical Presbyterian Church Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah, teaching elder Bill Meyer reported to the New Wineskins EPC Transitional Presbytery Oct. 6, 09 that increased giving has put the denomination’s General Assembly office back in positive financial territory.

“A heartfelt thanks to you, the members of NWEPCP for your response, along with the response of other churches in the EPC, that was made at the last General Assembly with respect to per member askings,” Meyer said.

The denomination’s General Assembly now is operating in the black, but it’s doing so based on a reduced budget. In June, the EPC General Assembly approved a $1.3 million 2010 administrative budget with approximately $250,000 in cuts. Three full-time positions and one part-time position were cut, and the full-time director’s positions in Student Ministries and Women in Ministry were reduced to half-time. The decreased budget went into effect July 1.