Board of Directors Update

REPORT ON THE JULY30-31,2018 BOARD MEETING IN WENHAM

by MATT MILLIGAN, CCCC PRESIDENT

One of the great blessings of the Annual Gathering to me is that the Board of Directors gets to meet face to face, as we did at First Congregational church in South Hamilton, MA the Monday and Tuesday before the gathering began. A theme of this year’s Board meetings seemed to be vision and paving the way for the future ministry of the CCCC.

We spent most of the second day on discussions around the structure changes that we have continued to bring about to resource and equip the local churches of the conference. The Board also identified need and opportunities in our credentialing process that we might work alongside new members to orient them to the CCCC Way of Life. The Credentials Committee will be discussing this in more detail in the coming months and report back to the Board.

The Stewardship Committee has been hard at work coming up with a “vision budget” for how we would like to staff toward the future ministry of the Conference. The Board was in agreement that the first priority of this budget would be the placement of Regional Pastors in three strategic areas of the country. The committee also proposed that the funding of this budget could come from our existing churches and proposed a mission giving challenge to our conference of 2% or more of a church’s budget toward the work of the CCCC. The Board spent time in thanksgiving and prayer over the support that we are already receiving from member churches toward our mission.

During the financial report from our Treasurer, Sue Drehmel, the Board received the results of the audit that was performed for 2017. We have continued to develop processes that strengthen our accountability and free up the use of funds that have been previously restricted. While we are currently 11% below budget in expenses, the giving is up 17% and we will continue to pray for God’s provision as we close out the year ahead.

The Annual Gathering Planning Committee updated the Board on the plans for our 2019 gathering in St. Paul, MN. It will be held at the University of St. Thomas. The Committee expressed that they were initially going to steer away from the university setting for next year, until they visited the campus and saw the facilities that would be used for our Annual Gathering. They are beautiful, convenient and affordable and the committee has made a great choice for next year. Plans are already underway for the development of the theme, speakers and details of next year’s gathering.

The Board also participated in a Newcomers Welcome Orientation for first time participants to a CCCC Annual Gathering. It was a great way to connect to those who are new to the conference or to one of our meetings, and to continue to drive forward our relational ties to one another as a family with a shared life and shared mission in Christ.

The biggest component of the work of the Board is prayer, and there was much prayer at this year’s meetings, which encourages me greatly. There was prayer over God’s direction and vision, prayer over our churches and their ministries, prayer over each staff member and their work for the coming year, and prayer for Board members and specific needs as they arose. It was a blessing for me to see the hearts of this Board and their utter dependence on Christ as they serve and lead the mission of the conference.