The Executive Committee of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (PMAB) today (Feb. 3) approved a 2017-18 Mission Work Plan for presentation to the full board for approval at its plenary session this afternoon. If approved, the plan will be presented to the 222nd General Assembly (2016) in Portland.
The Mission Work Plan is a strategic plan that guides the agency’s mission and ministry, sets its priorities, and seeks to identify and meet the areas of greatest need across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
In presenting the Mission Work Plan to the Executive Committee, vice chair Jo Stewart explained that the agency’s previous Mission Work Plan, developed four years ago, was the starting point for the present plan.
“While typically the plan would be for a four-year period,” Stewart explained, “this plan is intended to serve as a ‘bridge’ between the current Mission Work Plan and a future that we don’t understand at this point.”
With her statement, Stewart was alluding to the two-year span of the plan—a diversion from the standard four-year cycle—that anticipates a possible reorganization of the six agencies of the PC(USA).
During the course of the more than hour-long discussion, Executive Committee member, Melinda Sanders, raised a concern about the process—specifically about subsequent board involvement— of moving from approval of the plan to its implementation, including a recommended budget.
In response to this concern, Executive Committee member, Nancy Ramsay, drafted the following motion, which was later approved: “The Chair will appoint members of the PMAB to work with the Executive Director and designees to develop implementation strategies for the Mission Work Plan for the Board’s review and action at a called meeting prior to the April meeting. This will inform budget decisions in April.”