Facing another year of a troubled economy, International Mission Board trustees pressed forward with efforts to restructure the organization and respond to a lost world in their Jan. 26-27 meeting.
‘Moving ahead’
IMB president Jerry Rankin shared his excitement about changes on the way this year. In their September 2008 meeting, trustees approved a reorganization designed to improve the board’s ability to impact lostness and expand relationships with churches.
Trustees voted to realign their regional committees to focus on people groups or “affinity groups,” matching the reorganization of the board’s overseas work. Affinity groups are drawn together by language, culture and ethnicity, and not limited geographically.
Trustees also approved a measure that will streamline the restructuring process by allowing IMB leadership to transfer personnel to different assignments without trustee action.
Economic challenges
As angst grows over the world economy, board treasurer David Steverson noted that the declining value of the dollar, rising living costs overseas and medical expenses led the IMB to draw a “larger than usual” amount – about $7 million – from reserves.
Trustees allocated those funds to cover expenses – most of which allowed missionaries to keep up with rising living and medical expenses, helping them deal with a seven-year trend of a weakening dollar.
“I believe we need to buckle our seatbelts and get ready for another challenging year in 2009,” Steverson said. “While I believe the worst of the stock market decline is behind us, we now have to deal with all the fallout of that decline.”
Anticipating another tough year, trustees had already tightened the 2009 budget – cutting administrative costs such as reducing travel expenses and not adjusting salaried wages – in their November meeting. The budget allows for sustaining the current levels of missionaries on the field.
“We remain confident the Lord will provide,” Steverson added. “The Lord’s provisions may come in many forms, but make no mistake, he will provide.”