A succinct expression of mission and vision
A Corp Board offers its input on a new statement by the Administrative Services Group
LOUISVILLE — Among a lengthy to-do list Wednesday for members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation Board was approving — and seeing if they could improve upon —a mission and vision statement for the Administrative Services Group, the approximately 100-member team that provides varied services to the Interim Unified Agency and others. Those services include facilities, financial and accounting, funds development, human resources, legal and risk management, printing and resource distribution, research, technology, translation and interpretation.
Meeting online and in person at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, a day ahead of a joint meeting with the Unification Commission, the A Corp Board heard from a number of PC(USA) leaders, including Ian Hall, the A Corp’s interim president, and the Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency.
Hall said that A Corp leaders drafted the statement, with input from several other A Corp employees.
According to the statement, the purpose of the ASG is this: “A ministry of the General Assembly, the ASG helps mission and ministry flourish.”
Its vision statement: “In response to God’s call and through collaborative partnership, we steward diverse resources entrusted to our care so our partners can do mission and ministry now and into the future.”
The statement then transitions to three “by” statements:
- By equipping partners with strategic insight, contextual information and responsive services
- By ensuring appropriate compliance and risk mitigation standards are considered and charitable religious purpose is not compromised
- By managing the physical and virtual infrastructure including facilities, technology and resources that enable employees to carry out the organization’s mission and ministry.
The document concludes with a “so” statement: “So our partners can focus on mission, ministry and ecclesial work.”
Board members suggested minor edits, which Hall said will be considered as the statement is shaped into its final form.
A new name for Ministry Engagement and Support
Goodbye, Ministry Engagement and Support. Hello, Stewardship and Funds Development. MES Director the Rev. Dr. John Wilkinson told the Board the new name “doesn’t roll off the tongue yet, but it will.”
Last year, MES worked with a consultant to do “a full-on assessment of our work,” Wilkinson said. “The big conclusion was we needed to be more clearly focused on funds development.”
Those employees who used to focus on Special Offerings and appeals will now be part of the Annual Giving Team. Funds Development Operations will correspond with and thank donors along with generating “lots of data and reports,” Wilkinson told the Board. What used to be known as Ministry Engagement Advisors are now the Stewardship and Major Gift Team.
Stewardship and Funds Development will look to boost the number of PILLARS donors from the current 600. “We are living into a more robust major gift strategy,” Wilkinson said. During a February forum in Columbus, Ohio, SFD rolled out its plans, and more forums are on the horizon. “Churches with 50 members and churches with 5,000 members are having stewardship conversations right now,” he said. “These forums are a vital way to get our word out.”
“We think legacy giving is a big part of the future,” Wilkinson said. He displayed the penultimate paragraph in The Confession of 1967: “With an urgency born of this hope, the church applies itself to present tasks and strives for a better world. It does not identify limited progress with the kingdom of God on Earth, nor does it despair in the face of disappointment and defeat. In steadfast hope, the church looks beyond all partial achievement to the final triumph of God.”
“Urgency is leaning into the moment,” Wilkinson said. “Hope is not wishy-washy optimism, but something more substantive than that.”
“Our team is excited about this new strategic plan, connecting mission and ministry and generosity,” he said. “We are ready to lean in, bring new people on board and recalibrate our work.” He asked Board members to pray for the work of SFD.
A few words from the Stated Clerk/Executive Director
The Rev. Jihyun Oh appeared online from her meeting with the National Caucus of Korean Presbyterian Churches.
She updated the A Corp Board on the work of the Unification Commission, which among other tasks is rewriting the Organization for Mission. The two bodies will come together Thursday for a joint meeting.
In all, 82 unification-related priorities have been identified, with 35 categorized at the highest level of importance. “We are sequencing them with the help of Vivian Blade [of the Unification Management Office] so we can continue to make meaningful progress with unification,” Oh said.
A Corp’s interim president delivers highlights, financial report
Human Resources has “put in a lot of diligent work” as Global Ecumenical Partnerships has come into being from World Mission. Presbyterian Distribution Service got thousands of boxes in churches’ hands for the two Special Offerings that have occurred to date in 2025. Global Language Resources has been working hard to help Presbyterian Youth Triennium be meaningful for all attendees. Information Technology is eliminating 44 servers, pushing the data to the cloud.
“That’s a short list of things that happen every day at ASG,” Hall told the Board.
“Thank you for not siting back and waiting for things to happen,” Board Co-Chair Carol Winkler told the interim president. “You’ve done a great job and we’re really grateful.”
Hall, who’s also the A Corp’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, took the Board through the first quarter financial statement. At $18 million, giving was $4.3 million more than the budget, primarily due to an increase in gifts and bequests, special giving and year-to-date unrealized market gains on investments. At $16.5 million, expenses were exactly on budget. Salaries and benefits are $500,000 below the budget due to position vacancies.
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