08726
October 3, 2008

Discipleship Committee backs new curriculum development

Budget shortfalls are temporary until new curricula goes on sale, Congregational Ministries Publishing officials say

by Janet Tuck
Presbyterian News Service

SNOWBIRD, UT— Facing a serious financial deficit in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s curriculum enterprise, the General Assembly Council’s (GAC) Discipleship Committee spent a bulk of its time Oct. 1 here discussing curriculum development and marketing.

Meeting with the committee were Mark Hinds, general editor for curriculum development and Steve Moore, executive editor for finance, marketing and sales for Congregational Ministries Publishing (CMP).

Hinds and Moore traced the current budget woes — a $635,000 shortfall for the year to date — to a 50 percent staff turnover in recent years and the phasing out of the best-selling “Bible Quest” without a new product line to replace it. Hinds insisted the budget problems are temporary until new lines go on sale next year.

New educational curriculum currently under development include revised “We Believe” materials — the current top-of-the-line curriculum —  as well as “Wee Believe,” a new resource that’s being developed for preschoolers, and a new popular culture-related curriculum that will be released in the spring called “film” — short for “Faith in Literature and Media.”  

Other resources under development include devotional readings, adult Bible studies, a documentary on John Calvin in the 500th jubilee year of his birth in 2009 and a series of mission stories which connect faith with mission workers around the world.

The Rev. Tom Gillespie, chair of the Discipleship Committee, defended Congregational Ministries Publishing in sometimes heated discussions with the GAC’s Stewardship Committee around the budget problems. “We need to support these people as best we can. My hat’s off to you for writing a curriculum for this diverse church of ours,” he said. “As we consider the numbers we must also consider the goal” of creating disciples for Christ.”

The committee heard a report on the work of Presbyterian Women, including plans for next summer’s Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women, July 11-15 in Louisville.

More than 3,000 are expected to attend, with large delegations from Racial Ethnic Young Women Together and the National Network of Presbyterian College Women. According to Catrelia Hunter, PW’s representative on GAC, the gathering will also attract a large number of women from around the world who are participating in the PW Global Exchange program.

Robert James, Presbyterian Men’s representative on the council, reported on the work of  the PC(USA)’s official men’s organization.  Among PM’s extensive mission activities are disaster relief work through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, providing wells at Marion Medical Mission in Africa, and outreach ministry in Korea.