COMMISSIONED four candidates for full-time missionary service, and one Korean-American Mission Superintendent and 34 Korean-American Mission Pastors as part of a plan being developed with the United Methodist National Committee on Korean-American Ministries to better minister to that population.
APPROVED 44 candidates for missionary service.
WELCOMED new Directors Ella Rathod, Nebraska Annual Conference (SCJ) and Tove Odland, Northern European Central Conference.
ELECTED: Paul A. Dirdak, clergy member of the California/Nevada Annual Conference, to the position of Deputy General Secretary of the Board, with assignment to Health and Relief and Mission Volunteers. Robert B. Howerton, Jr., Assistant General Secretary for Health and Welfare; Jerald L. Scott, Assistant General Secretary for Institutional Ministries; Robert E. Walton, Assistant General Secretary for Mission Volunteers; and Sam Dixon, Assistant General Secretary for Non Governmental Organization Programs. Catherine Scott to the position of Assistant Recording Secretary of the Board.
APPROVED a concept paper called "Investments for Mission: New Program Initiatives," which proposes the use of unrealized capital gains for programs in geographic areas that will transcend national boundaries and strengthen evangelistic work among constituencies not usually reached by traditional ministries of the Church, and AUTHORIZED the release of funds for the following programs:
REFERRED back to the Board Cabinet, for development of implementation plans, the following funding proposals from the "Investments for Mission: New Program Initiatives"; Partnership Fund for Latin America/Caribbean Area and Asia ($5 million); "Innovative Mission Volunteers" ($2.5 million); Inner-city Development ($5 million); Central Conference Pension Support ($2.5 million); and Agricultural Development Programs ($2.5 million).
APPROVED:
$3,485,000 in grants from the Millennium Fund for Mission to help bolster church infrastructure through the recovery, purchase and/or redevelopment of property in Poland, Germany, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Latvia, and on the continent of Africa, recognizing that the magnitude of some of these projects will require reconsideration as work develops and partnerships are cultivated.
$23,314,260 as the 1999 World Service Fund, based upon 87% of the recommended General Conference allocation to the General Board of Global Ministries.
A total distribution of $22,650,428 for mission programs and projects which fulfill the mandate of the four goals of the Board: Witness to the Gospel for Initial Decision to Follow Jesus Christ; Strengthen, Develop, and Renew Christian Congregation and Community; Alleviate Human Suffering; and seek Justice, Freedom, and Peace.
A grant of $25,000 for assistance to restore the historic landmark site of the former "Underground Railroad" in Baltimore, MD, headed by Sharp Street United Methodist Church.
A grant of $25,000 to Kansas City North & South Districts for support of an urban development office in the Missouri West Annual Conference.
An increase of $635,000 in the budget for Ecumenical Support Projects for 1998.
An additional amount of $802,840 from UMCOR funds for Non Governmental Organization related expenses in 1998.
A process and time-line to evaluate the new structure of the Board.
DEFERRED:
Action on the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference pensions proposal until August 1998, when additional information is received.
Action on the transfer of Birchwood United Methodist Church Camp in Chugiak, Alaska to the Alaska Missionary Conference for further legal review at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Board.
ADOPTED a resolution on Nigeria, calling for the restoration of human rights, the release of political prisoners, and the continuation of sanctions by the United States and other countries.
DESIGNATED 1999, the International Year of Older Persons, as a time to focus on work with that population.
PARTICIPATED in "Mission Immersion Events" which focussed on the Board's involvement in the Racial-Ethnic Minority Local Church program; programs with children and youth; and new mission evangelism initiatives in Cambodia, Lithuania, and Senegal.
HEARD:
President Dan E. Solomon exhort Directors and staff to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to the ends of the earth.
Deputy General Secretary Michael Rivas remind Directors and staff that Jesus is the clue and the standard for what we do in mission when we are contextually sensitive and aware.
A daily Bible study led by Dr.Harold Recinos, Professor of Theology and Culture at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC.
Reports on: work with our Methodist partners in Indonesia, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Kazakstan; GBGM-sponsored visits to Cuba and North Korea; the partnership of the Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Benton, Arkansas, and the prison ministry in Ekaterinburg, Russia; continuing implementation of ministries with both the Korean-American and Native American constituencies; the ramifications of Immigration Reform in the United States; and ways by which the Internet can be used to broaden and improve communication and information about the mission and ministry of the General Board of Global Ministries.
RECOGNIZED with deep appreciation for their unstinting and dedicated
service, the Rev. Leon Adkins and Ms. Bonnie Totten Adkins, who concluded
their joint assignment as interim Deputy General Secretary for the
Health and Relief unit and Mission Volunteers Program Area on April 30, 1998.
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