Mission and Ministry Board

The 2021 year-end financial reporting to this Spring’s Mission and Ministry Board meeting covered the Church of the Brethren denomination’s Core Ministries and its self-funding ministries including Brethren Press, Material Resources, and the Conference Office. Special purpose funds, including the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF), which supports Brethren Disaster Ministries; the Global Food Initiative Fund, which supports the Global Food Initiative (GFI); and the Emerging Global Mission Fund were also reported on.

A statement on the war in Ukraine topped the agenda of the Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board at its meeting on March 11-13, held in person at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., and via Zoom. Chair Carl Fike led the meeting, assisted by chair-elect Colin Scott and general secretary David Steele.

The Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board issued a statement on Ukraine during its Spring meeting at the denomination’s General Offices in Elgin, Ill. Board chair Carl Fike, who led the meeting, signed the statement with the unanimous consent of the members of the board.

The Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board will meet March 11-13 at the denomination’s General Offices in Elgin, Ill., in person and via Zoom. Business will be led by chair Carl Fike, assisted by chair-elect Colin Scott and general secretary David Steele.

At its fall meeting on Oct. 15-17, the Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board approved a 2022 budget for denominational ministries. Among other actions, the board also moved the Brethren Press budget into the denomination’s Core Ministries, ending the publishing house’s status as a self-funding ministry. The board received a year-to-date financial update for 2021 and numerous reports from ministry areas, board committees, and church agencies.

The Church of the Brethren’s Mission and Ministry Board holds its fall meeting this weekend as a hybrid event with the in-person events at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill. Executive Committee meetings and board member orientation begin Friday, Oct. 15. The full board meets Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday morning, Oct. 17.

The Church of the Brethren Annual Conference affirmed board-elected and constituency-elected directors and trustees for the denomination’s Mission and Ministry Board and the Conference agencies Bethany Theological Seminary, On Earth Peace, and Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT). Also affirmed were district executive representatives to the denomination’s Leadership Team and the Pastoral Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee.

Among other business, the board spent a significant amount of time continuing its work to align denominational ministries with its new Strategic Plan. Other top agenda items included a 2022 budget parameter for Core Ministries, recommendations from a team “re-imagining” Brethren Press, and the calling of a new Executive Committee.

The Church of the Brethren Mission and Ministry Board will hold its pre-Annual Conference meeting on Saturday and Sunday, June 26-27. The meeting will be a hybrid of in-person and Zoom options for attendance, with most of the board members gathering at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill.

The Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren held spring meetings via Zoom on Friday through Sunday, March 12-14, 2021. Main items of business continued work on the board’s new strategic plan and received year-end financial reporting for 2020.