1998: Another Year, Another Report

Ray A. Seilhamer
Bishop, 1993-2001

May 1998

As Bishop, I am accountable to the General Board of Administration. And accountability always involves reports. Each year, the various Headquarters officials submit a report for the annual meeting of the General Board which, this year, occurred April 16-17. The General Board consists of conference superintendents and laypersons from each of the North American conferences.

Following are pieces of my report to the General Board.

Church Planting

God is creating a church planting environment in North America. We have 22 new churches, all of which need encouragement. Church planting is hard work. In North America, nine new churches were started or adopted into our fellowship during 1997--in Arizona, New York City, California, Texas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

I am also encouraged by church planting efforts on our international fields. The Lord has started over 100 new churches or preaching points throughout the denomination since 1993. In 1999, I plan to present a five-year plan, along with strategies, for starting another 100 churches.

Commission on Ministry

Tom Brodbeck, superintendent of Central Conference, chairs the Ministry Commission, which has met twice since General Conference. We are working on a document that deals with biblical and historical issues of ordination. In addition, a new ministerial profile form has been approved, and the commission established a list of approved seminaries and colleges where our ministers can receive academic training.

The commission is also discussing ministerial recruitment and assessment. Where will we find our future ministers? How can we enhance our prayer and promotional efforts within the denomination to challenge individuals to answer God's call to fulltime or part-time ministry?

The commission is also doing research regarding standards for our cross-cultural ministers, and is studying ways to provide cross-cultural education.

National Conference Task Force

Each conference in the United States appointed one person to serve on the National Conference Task Force, which was authorized by General Conference last June. This group, chaired by Church Services director Paul Hirschy, will begin work later this year to develop a plan for having just one conference in the United States. Their work will be submitted to the 2001 General Conference. The concept has many, many ramifications.

Other Issues

Finances. The North American conferences faithfully shared their resources for denominational interests in 1997. Of the money assessed to conferences for support of the denominational budget, 98.8% was received. That is the highest level of assessment support in over 20 years.

Headquarters. I appreciate the leadership team at the United Brethren Headquarters in Huntington. They are a great group of servants. In March, the entire staff went on a one-day retreat which focused on vision, quality service, leadership development, and information sharing. I am grateful for an adequate budget and quality equipment to help the Headquarters people be effective in their work.

Travel. I don't plan to travel out of the country in 1998 unless the situation in Sierra Leone changes dramatically, in which case I might travel to that country for their annual conference. I desperately want to encourage the people in Sierra Leone.

Our Greatest Challenges

Call our pastors and people to prayer and fasting, so that we may truly be the people of God.
Continue developing healthy congregations as a top priority.
Struggle to obtain the best pastor-church combinations.
Work hard to discover excellent ministerial candidates who can become pastors, staff ministers, and church planters.
Continue enhancing ministerial training and pastoral development. This is a challenge for every denomination.
Obtain a stronger commitment to church planting in North America.
Address the issue of biblical stewardship in our churches.
Address educational standards and credentialing within our cross-cultural ministries.
Develop the best plan for a National Conference for presentation to General Conference.