We renew our recommendation that Presbyteries vote against adopting the BCO 14 amendments and seek improved formulations. Moreover, it is hoped that any Presbyteries which have not yet voted on the proposals will at least engage in deliberative study of this overture or other prudent alternatives prior to voting on the AC Funding Plan.

The Session of Midway Presbyterian Church in Powder Springs, Georgia, on Jan. 2, 2011, adopted an overture proposing a simple and voluntary means to fund the General Assembly Administrative Committee. The overture will be presented to the Northwest Georgia Presbytery (NWGP) at its regular, stated meeting on January 29 to be forwarded to the 39th General Assembly, which will be meeting in Virginia Beach, Va., June 7-10, 2011.

TE David Hall, pastor of Powder Springs PCA, commented on the Session’s proposal: “We hope that our Presbytery, which has already voted against the BCO 14 amendments (the AC Funding Plan), and many others will join in offering and embracing this overture as a positive alternative. We sincerely believe that other Sessions and Presbyteries would prefer to have an option comparable to the one presented in the overture, or even with some modifications, instead of feeling coerced either to approve the AC Funding Plan or else to abandon the Administrative Committee (AC) to face catastrophe. In fact, we believe that it would be preferable to try such a modified, voluntary approach prior to amending the BCO in order to institute the mandatory system recommended in the BCO 14 amendments.

“The Rules of Assembly Operations (10-10) permit a Session to forward an overture to the GA as long as it presents such first to its own Presbytery. Should our Presbytery not agree with this overture, after having been presented to the January 29 meeting, our Session intends to forward this to the 2011 GA in accord with RAO 10-10. Thus, we now announce our intention and offer to the broader church our best advice on this subject, hoping that many others will join with us to: (a) preserve a voluntary basis of giving; (b) allow fair and continued representation at the highest courts; (c) balance the AC budget; and (d) establish a reserve fund to avoid future shortfalls.

“We renew our recommendation that Presbyteries vote against adopting the BCO 14 amendments and seek improved formulations. Moreover, it is hoped that any Presbyteries which have not yet voted on the proposals will at least engage in deliberative study of this overture or other prudent alternatives prior to voting on the AC Funding Plan. We invite all Sessions and Presbyteries to continue these healthy discussions until we find a stronger consensus on better ways to fund our essential ministries.”

An Overture to the 39th PCA General Assembly

A Modest, Simple, and Fair AC Funding Proposal That Retains Our Voluntary Method, Balances the AC Budget, and Establishes a Reserve Fund to Avoid Future Shortfalls

Whereas, the 38th General Assembly (GA) of the PCA recommended[1] an Administrative Committee (AC) funding method that may well not be ratified by the presbyteries for several reasons; and

Whereas, even if the requisite presbyteries support the suggested BCO amendments, the church might favor a method like the one below before adopting one with such sweeping changes; and

Whereas, the AC has seldom in its 38 previous years received all the funding it requested; and should that continue the AC, under the guidance of this GA, could address that shortage simply by lowering its total budget before seeking to change to an unproven funding method; and

Whereas, we all affirm our desire to fund vital ministries appropriately, while also remaining sensitive to congregational limitations and support thresholds; and

Whereas, the condition of the national economy and related cutbacks in many churches argues strongly against commencing a system of “pay-to-play” funding at this time; and

Whereas, it might be better to attempt less drastic changes, including reducing budgets as most families and churches have had to do recently, before seeking to enforce a sweeping and somewhat divisive plan which may not have widespread support from the congregations; and

Whereas, the congregations are annually the chief contributors to the AC work, and thus fairly should receive the most reasonable fees to GA—instead of a system that places more burden on faithful contributing units while favoring commissioners who do not generate annual askings; and

Whereas, there are many other ways to fund the work of the AC adequately—and the one suggested below seeks to achieve important stewardship goals as would ordinary families and churches when faced with shortfalls;

Therefore, the Session of Midway Presbyterian Church [and the Northwest Georgia Presbytery] overtures the 39th GA, other presbyteries, and the AC to join with us in embracing and approving the following numbered actions (notes and Rationale are illustrative or explanatory and not part of the Assembly’s approval), or to improve them, in order to achieve the critical goals of:

(a)balancing a reduced AC budget as well as;
(b)building an Administrative Reserve Fund (ARF) to protect the AC from downturns or shortfalls in the near future, while;
(c) retaining our healthy and clearly voluntary Askings plan from faithful congregations.

Accordingly, we ask this Assembly to act as follows, without needing any BCO or RAO changes:

(1)To set an Essential Budget for the AC at $1.5M for the next five years,[2] and adjust such by the amounts approved for Cost-of-Living Increases (COLA) annually.[3] Every five years beginning in 2016, the Assembly shall evaluate that Essential Budget to see if it should be adjusted in order to provide for desired, essential services and administration.

(2)Annual Askings will continue,[4] and this Assembly, thus, approves $7.00 per capita as the Askings amount for AC for the coming year. [5]

(3)Churches that contribute Askings will receive a Reduced GA registration fee (not to exceed $100 per capita as set by the AC) based on their giving, beginning in 2012 as below.

(3a) All eligible commissioners from congregations that contribute their full annual AC Askings may fully participate in that year’s GA at a registration charge not to exceed $100 per commissioner.[6]

(3b) All delegates from congregations which contribute a percentage of AC Askings may register their eligible commissioners at a discounted amount from the Standard Registration Fee ($500) equal to the percentage of the Askings given by their congregation for that year, plus the registration charge not to exceed $100 per commissioner.[7]

(4)All other eligible commissioners may fully participate in the annual GA by paying a Standard $500 Registration Fee, or one approved by the GA.[8]

(5)All Permanent Committees and Agencies are requested by this General Assembly to make a one-time contribution of 0.33% of their annual budget by June 30, 2012[9] to create an Administrative Reserve Fund (ARF) for essential AC expenses.[10]

Rationale:

According to this Plan, using the 2010 AC projections (cf. pp. 349, 352), if the next budget is set for $1.5M[11], the major sources of Askings income and other revenue are estimated as below:

· $450,000 Askings and/or GA registrations from churches with under 500k budget.[12]
· $620,000 Askings and/or GA registrations from churches with over 500k budget.[13]
· $360,000 Registration Fees from TEs or REs, whose churches do not give Askings.[14]
· $70,000 GA Exhibitors (estimated on p. 352).
$1,500,000 Essential Budget

In favor of this plan are the following strong values:

(a) In the present economic downturn, this does not substantially raise the participation-cost-basis for churches, who give consistently and should be encouraged by reduced GA fees.[15]
(b) It clearly retains and strengthens the voluntary giving culture of the PCA since 1973, calling for no amendments either to the BCO nor RAO (which also spares divisive debates and many man hours on such so that we may be more about the mission of the church).
(c) It is common-sensical, simple, and accomplishes what we all agree is needed, i.e., to support the AC workers, who are worthy of their hire.
(d) It avoids any cumulative contribution basis; and requires no hardship cases or panels to determine relief for such.
(e) It does not threaten discipline or stigma for non payment of services, which some believe are non essential.
(f) It is a shared pastoral approach, with free market impulses, allowing all to participate and give.

[1] It is worth noting, however, that even some who voted for the Plan at the 2010 GA voiced the need for a significant alternative to the proposed funding plan when it came to presbytery discussions and voting.

[2] The line items for the News Office ($450,000, p. 352, 2010 Handbook) and Stats/Publications ($310,000) could be dropped immediately for a $760,000 savings, or ca. 34% of the budget, with no other cutbacks if desired. Minutes, Yearbooks, and Printing henceforth may be provided for purchase at a reasonable cost (including staff labor) or posted online. Other publications may continue on a non-subsidized basis, after AC covers its essential services.

[3] If a surplus exists in any given year, the AC at its discretion may apply any portion to special projects, after fully funding the Essential Budget, or build up the Administrative Reserve Fund (ARF).

[4] After 2016, Askings may be determined by dividing the total number of members into the Essential Budget Amount and rounded up to the nearest dollar, with the addition of one dollar per capita to cover any lack of givings.

[5] For the present year, at the Asking figure of $7.00/member, if at least 78% of the churches with 273,388 total members contribute Askings, the proposed Essential Budget would be balanced.

[6] It is clear (from p. 310 of the 2010 Handbook; all numbered page refs to this) that as the Assembly registration has increased, attendance has decreased. Thus, if we can decrease costs, attendance of REs may increase.

[7] If, e.g., 25%/50%/75% of Askings is given, the Standard Registration fee may be decreased by that same percentage.

[8] The Fee has been set at $400 since 2006. The ministries or institutions for these commissioners may or often do cover a portion or the whole of this expense for their employees; thus allowing every TE or eligible RE to attend GA every year at a COLA-adjusted cost approximating what it has been for the past 5 years. For Honorably Retired TEs or REs, if unable to afford attendance at GA, presbyteries are encouraged to establish a Scholarship Fund to assist such.

[9] For this year, that would amount to ca. $400,000 according to p. 310.

[10] Even if this voluntary sharing of essential services should not be met, the rest of this plan provides for balanced budgets and a smaller reserve, which depends on reasonable cost containment.

[11] This number may easily be derived from the subtraction of the nonessential $760,000 (FN#1 above) from the total proposed ($2,250,000—p. 352).

[12] According to the AC’s own estimations [Handbook, 349], $555,000 should be received for registrations from churches with under $500,000 annual budgets, even if nothing is contributed from the 785 churches with less than $100,000 budget. Thus, an estimated $450,000 assumes receiving approximately 80% of that figure. Or if $657,000 is received, including the projected amounts of the 785 churches with less than $100,000 budget, then $450,000 is ca 65% of that figure. Thus, none of this overture’s estimates require 100% participation to balance this budget.

[13] According to the AC’s own estimations [Handbook, 349], $1,030,000 should be received for registrations from churches with over $500,000 annual budgets. Thus, an estimated $620,000 assumes receiving approximately 60% of that figure. If more funding is given from this sector, the AC may build its reserve more quickly or fund other projects.

[14] This figure includes the slight increase over the estimated $300k (p. 352), due merely to the 20% increase for Standard registration.

[15] Note, a church of 125 members would only be asked to contribute $875 for all AC services and then register all its eligible commissioners @ $100 per capita for a given year. Churches with members of 72 or less could send all of its eligible commissioners for slightly less than $500, plus the $100 per capita reduced registration fee, according to this method.