Presbyterian Mission Agency Board approves board restructure plan

The Presbyterian Mission Agency Board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has approved a plan to restructure its work. The design does not change the number of board members, although it does include additional voices in issue-based ad-hoc ministerial teams, and does not require the approval of the General Assembly.

Citing segmentation and “siloing” of decision making in the board’s current structure, Melinda Sanders, board spokesperson for the Board Governance Task Force report, said the new structure will, “Create time for more generative discernment and how we heard God’s call. 

“I think this new model will better allow us to utilize the resources we have,” she said.

The new structure will be implemented at the board’s September meeting and includes changes to the Leadership, Worshiping Communities, and Justice committees, which will be reorganized and labeled differently as Administrative Committees.

“I want to make sure people know we’re not dropping these important ministries,” said board member Marci Glass in suggesting the adopted amendment that renamed Administrative Committees from the suggested Ministerial Committees, and Ministerial Teams from the original Strategic Teams.

The existing areas of Audit and Finance will continue in their previous capacity, accompanied by newly formed Personnel and Nominating, Mission Effectiveness, and Executive areas. Membership in Administrative Committees will be composed only of voting members 

Ministerial Teams will be implemented as “ad-hoc work groups that give practical application to the discernment process,” in lieu of the subcommittees and task forces used for such decision making under the previous board structure.

The Ministerial Teams will be comprised of voting board members, at-large members, non-voting members and staff, all of which will have voice and voice. Ministerial Teams will address “immediate areas of concern” over a short term, delivering decisions and recommendations to Administrative Committees or the board for discussion and approval.

“[This structure] moves us toward having generative discussions and time to hear from staff,” said Sanders, saying concerns had been raised that wouldn’t have time to discuss fiduciary matters in depth under the new model. “But it’s important for where we are.”