As of January 1, the new National Conference structure is official. One major change involves the way we handle assessments (sending monetary support for denominational ministries). Each church will now send 3.5% of its total income (minus new construction funds, missions giving, and estate gifts) directly to the United Brethren Headquarters. No longer will churches send assessments through the conference. Each church is responsible for calculating the amount they need to send.
Please note that the 3.5% is just the assessment portion. Any other funds, such as pastor pension, need to be kept separate. Conferences may require an additional percentage (for instance, Central Conference churches must give an additional 1% to support conference ministries until the conference is able to official dissolve–something it can’t do yet because of pending legal action against the conference).
Your church’s treasurer should have already received forms to use when sending money to headquarters.

On January 19, the annual reports for the year 2005 were mailed to all ministers. The forms have changed very little from previous years. However, the reporting process has changed. The originals will be sent to the Bishop (instead of to the conference superintendent). In addition, Bishop Ramsey wants pastors to make copies for their fellow cluster members. The cluster will serve as the “auditing” committee, since it is the place where congregations and pastors are primarily accountable. Information about the reports, including downloadable forms, is available online.

For the past couple months, local churches have been organizing into “clusters” of 5-7 churches. A good share of our churches are now identified with a cluster. Bishop Ron Ramsey plans to announce the cluster leaders by the end of the year.

The ten annual conferences in the United States are in the process of discontinuing their cooperative ministries. Here is a quick status report on some of the conferences.

Mid-Atlantic. Mid-Atlantic Conference voted unanimously during its mid-year session on November 12 to discontinue the conference as of the end of 2005. Most of the conference’s 55 churches are expected to be functioning in clusters by that time. Legal ownership of the Rhodes Grove Camp and Conference Center will be transferred to its board of directors, but the National Conference will establish a meaningful covenant relationship with the ministry. The Mid-Atlantic Foundation will be used to provide group health insurance and stewardship services to churches on the East Coast and elsewhere. Mid-Atlantic includes churches in Pennsylvania, Virginia, W. Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.

Central. Central Conference has been closing down its cooperative ministries and helping churches make the transition to the cluster arrangement. Because of pending legal action involving the conference, Central Conference cannot dissolve the corporation. Until a lawsuit is settled, Central Conference will continue as a legal entity, with a downsized (six person) conference council providing oversight. Superintendent Tom Brodbeck will continue as fulltime superintendent until the end of 2005, and will then continue in that role on a part-time basis at $100 a month, mainly to provide general oversight and handle whatever legal details are needed to formally dissolve the conference. Central Conference includes churches in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.

Michindoh. The Michindoh Annual Conference voted 72-10 to empower its conference council to care for all of the details of dissolution. The conference council meets this week.

Sandusky. Sandusky Conference approved disbanding as a conference during the 2005 annual meeting, which came after the National Conference. Conference administrative activities will be handled by the Conference Council through 2006. Currently there are nine churches in the East District and 7 in the West District. Over the last two years, Sandusky has lost or closed four churches (most recently the Jerry City, Ohio, church). Most of the churches were already involved in a cluster group.

California. Most of the churches of California Conference have withdrawn from the denomination and started their own group, which they are calling the United Believers in Christ. Only the UB church in Pixley, Calif., and the Hispanic Cellular Church in Canyon Country remain.

Michigan. Michigan Conference will hold a mid-year conference in February, and will make decisions then about the future of the conference. Most of the churches are already organized into clusters.

The US National Conference is transitioning to a structure based on clusters–an average of seven churches whose pastors meet together regularly for accountability, encouragement, and training. Many of the clusters have already been formed, and Bishop Ramsey will be appointing the cluster leaders in the weeks ahead. A meeting of cluster leaders is scheduled for early in 2006.

The UB website contains a list of the clusters which have formed thus far. Most are organizing on a geographic location basis and staying with churches in their own conference (though a few have crossed conference lines).

The United Brethren Discipline for 2005-2007 has now been posted online. You can view the individual chapters, or download a PDF of the whole document.

The Mid-Atlantic Conference Council, during its September 10 meeting, passed a recommendation that the Mid-Atlantic Conference “officially disband operations as of December 31, 2005, unless otherwise needed.” This recommendation will be voted on the Mid-Year Conference Session on November 12. That meeting will be held at the Prince Street UB church in Shippensburg, Pa.

Anthony Blair, in an email, explained, “The December 31 date was chosen because on January 1, we will move into will move into the new national conference structure, including the paying of assessments (3.5% of income) directly to the national office. This motion gives us the option of continuing some functions later that than date if needed. A transition team will likely be appointed to help us move from status quo to the new structure. If we vote in the affirmative, the Mid-Year Council Session will include a worship experience to celebrate what God has done among the conference for the past 216 years.”

The Council would like to continue a group health insurance policy for active ministers after the disbanding of the conference. It authorized “the Commission of Administration and Finance to continue looking for any and all possibilities for a vehicle for an insurance group plan, and that funds be made available for necessary legal advice….The group health insurance plan for retired ministers, spouses, and widows is more difficult. The conference supplements the premiums on this plan by $90,000 annually from conference funds. If the conference no longer exists, those funds will no longer exist and a number of our older retirees in particular cannot afford to pay for our current plan all by themselves. Our relationship with and commitment to our retirees means that we cannot simply abandon them to their own devices in this situation….

“During the Mid-Year Council session the Commission on Administration and Finance would like to meet and discuss options with all of the participants in the retiree plan who are able to attend. Those who are not able to attend will be met with individually at their homes as necessary. Again, the intention is treat our retirees with grace and respect through this process, present multiple options to them, and assist them as necessary in identifying an option that best suits their financial and medical parameters.”

The Conference Council didn’t take formal action on anything relating to clusters, but did spend considerable time addressing the transition to healthy church clusters. Both the national office and the conference Commission on Church Growth and Renewal will be assisting churches to create and/or find clusters this Fall.

The Council did not have an opportunity to address the future of Rhodes Grove Camp, but recognizes that the relationship with the camp will need to be re-defined if the Mid-Atlantic Conference no longer exists. Options include transferring ownership to the national conference, creating a membership organization to support the camp, folding it into the Mid-Atlantic Foundation, or establishing a covenant relationship that preserves its UB identity without the legal liabilities of outright ownership.

The new Executive Leadership Team held its first meeting September 12-13 in Huntington, Ind. Ron Ramsey chaired the meeting. Tom Brodbeck was chosen as assistant chairperson, and Brian Hughes (Walbridge, Ohio) was named secretary.

Leadership Teams. A major item of business was to approve chairpersons and members of the various leadership teams: Healthy Church, Global Ministries, Education, Pastoral Ministry, Administration, and Church Multiplication. Much of that work was done, though a variety of positions remain to be filled.

Strategic Initiatives. Bishop Ramsey presented five strategic initiatives for the US National Conference, and the ELT approved them. The steps to accomplish these initiatives remain to be fleshed out. However, those five strategic initiatives are:

  1. Implement and encourage an atmosphere where multiplication of leaders and churches will be considered as normal.
  2. Encourage spiritual formation and renewal within the church of the United Brethren in Christ.
  3. Actively equp churches and pastors for effective ministries.
  4. Develop a plan to identify and retain those who are being called into fulltime Christian service.
  5. Discover, evaluate, and articulate the perceived brand image of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ.

2007 US National Conference. Bishop Ramsey recommended, and the ELT approved, the following: “That the 2007 National Conference be a two-day event held sometime during the period of June 18 through July 7, depending on availability of facilities.” Potential locations are being researched in Lancaster County, Pa., Baltimore, Md., Virginia Beach, Va., and Huntington University, Huntington. Ind. The National Conference would be promoted as a convention/family vacation, with business kept to a minimum and inspiration to a maximum. The event would include high quality music, speakers, teaching, and worship, and special events for children, youth, and pastors’ wives.

National Conference Covenant. The National Conference Covenant, approved by the 2005 US National Conference, represents a fundamental change in how we operate. Every local church will need to sign a covenant, which affirms their commitment to eight points. If a church refuses to sign the covenant, then they are saying, “We no longer want to be a United Brethren church.” The ELT agreed that the initial signing of the church covenant would be completed by all churches before January 1, 2006. Bishop Ramsey will be sending out copies of the covenant to each church. You can see a sample copy of the covenant here.

Clusters. Another fundamental change approved by the 2005 US National Conference was to reorganize the US churches into clusters, and to phase out the annual conference structure. This is still in its earliest stages. However, Pat Jones, the Director of Healthy Church Ministries, hopes to have the clusters formed by January 2006. A mailing concerning clusters went out in mid-September. All of those materials are also available on the website, along with other information about clusters.

United Brethren people have a history of responding with funds and as volunteers when disaster strikes. When hurricanes hit Florida, we worked through our UB churches there providing relief. After the tsunami last December, we worked through our workers in India.

Several UB people have inquired about ways to help victims of Katrina. Because we do not have any close United Brethren connections in the area that has been hit by Katrina, we are referring people to other reputable organizations that are able to mobilize this relief effort.

Please contact the organization of your choice. We suggest the following:

World Relief
World Vision
Samaritan’s Purse
Salvation Army
Red Cross
AmeriCares

The following was sent out to the UB email list by Pat Jones, the new Director of Healthy Church Ministries. He provides some information regarding what lies ahead as the United Brethren church embarks on radical transformation in how we operate, and as we begin implementing a new structure based on cluster group.

“An age of change has come for the United Brethren church. After a time of challenge, we have come together to look toward the future by copying a chapter from our past. Otterbein and Boehm were men who came from different backgrounds, but agreed on their purpose: reaching people with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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