As a result of the successful sale of the east campus and the sale of a portion of the west campus, we are now beginning plans to implement our long-desired decentralized financial model.
Last year we took a small step toward that goal by creating a program to return funds to local congregations. That program resulted in more than $1.5 million being returned to the local churches. Later this year we are hoping for not just a small step, but a giant leap.
As a result of the property sales, along with the line of credit to fund the ongoing maintenance of the campus, the campus sale expenses and our discretionary assistance program, we now feel it is appropriate to initiate the final planning stages for a new financial model that concentrates member donations at the level of the local congregation.
Please understand that we cannot yet set an exact date because an enormous amount of work still needs to be done: computer hardware and software, banking programs, and a host of details I won’t go into here. This means that exactly when and how we can implement the new model depends on numerous details of the process, including arrangements with our financial institutions and the ongoing sales process for the remaining portion of the west campus. Needless to say, these details are complicated.
However, our financial and computer staffs plan to begin the rollout of this program as early as July and then bring all our congregations into the new model within four months unless circumstances beyond our control force a delay.
We plan to implement the new financial model in stages, beginning in order of districts based on the regional conference schedules. In other words, we will begin with the Southwest district, where the regional conference has already taken place. That conference was followed by ones in Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon. We now have New Jersey; Lexington, Kentucky; Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and Orlando, Florida, on the schedule.
Along with a presentation for salaried pastors regarding an employee pension plan, I will be meeting with all pastors at the regional conferences to give them a more detailed explanation about new model implementation, so I won’t go into further particulars in this article.
By using 2004 as the ramp-up year, we hope to have all our congregations up and running before the year ends. Then, 2005 will be the first full year of operations under the new model. In 2006, we plan for the apportionments to be reduced as delineated in the Financial Manual. Of course, by making the giant leap in 2004, the small step program of 2003 will not be held over, and is now considered fulfilled.
I pray these plans will bring as much joy to all of you faithful members as it does to us in Pasadena.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2004