LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1992, Page 124

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PROGRAM AND FINANCE 125

The unrestricted budget is funded primarily from Sun-
day morning offerings. The amounts of such offerings con-
gregations pledged to Districts in 1992 is down
substantially, resulting in Districts reducing their 1992
intentions for national Synod by $1,855,000. The 1992/93
unrestricted budget assumes that calendar year 1993 re-

ceipts from Districts will be at least as high as 1992. The
restricted budget, funded through legacies, bequests, spe-

cial gifts, and grants is up primarily as a result of the Board :

for Mission Services including a total spending plan for the
year in its budget amounts and because of the expenses of
the 1992 synodical convention and Youth Gathering. The
decrease in the unrestricted budget is, among other things,
due to the following:

Reduction in the Board for Mission Services
budget because the Southern District
determined to become self-supporting ...$ 300, 000

Transfer of the Mission Resource Unit costs - i
to the Board for Mission Services
restricted budget ................0.00005

Transfer of editorial costs from the Board
for Parish Services to Concordia
Publishing House .................0000 es

Transfer of Planned Giving costs to the
LCMS Foundation ..................0008

Transfer income from the ILLL’s Endowment
Fund for Veterans of the Cross to

420,000

restricted budget ................:000008 250,000
Program and staff reductions ............. 1,250, 000
Increases due to changes in priorities....... (903,000)
Net decrease in unrestricted budget ...... $2,240,000

The majority of the unrestricted budget program and

staff reductions were made in the area of Congregational
Services, with a 47.6 percent reduction. Although the
Board for Parish Services editorial units will remain intact
when the costs are transferred to Concordia Publishing
House, staffing for other congregational service “units
charged to the unrestricted budget will be reduced by ul,

resulting in a staff of 18 executive, professional, and aec-
retarial personne! to provide services in worship, youth,

parish services, schools, and stewardship nurture. Ih
agreeing to these staffing levels, it is recognized that many
of the congregational ministries services are rendered by
District boards and staffs, It is also recognized that in some
areas, engaging full-time staff is not the best way to meet
the needs of the Synod in the 1990s and beyond. Part-time
or volunteer staff may provide more effective services and
provide broader grassroots involvement. A significant re-
duction is proposed in the Stewardship Nurture staff, pri-
marily due to concluding at Dee. 31, 1992, the His Love
Our Response program.

In addition to staff reductions in Congregational Ser-
vices, various resources have been eliminated and addi-
tional materials will be sold rather than given away.
District newsletters will be cut back and some may be
eliminated. Although travel for workshops is expected to
be reimbursed, visits to District boards and staffs remain
in the national budget, but will be reduced. These visits
are considered important to establish a strong and unified
partnership with Districts in behalf of congregations.
These partnerships should, however, be enhanced through

inclusion in the budget funds for the proposed Conference
of Congregational Services.

Mission and Ministry Support Services charged to the
unrestricted budget have been reduced by 17.4 percent.
Interpreting the mission, including the official periodicals,
have been reduced by 10.8 percent. The ecclesial services
and business and financial services portions of the Mission
and Ministry Support Services budget have been reduced
by 11.2 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively. The Syn-
odical Administration portion of the budget has been re-
duced 11 percent, primarily as a result of the elimination
of the Planning Council. A combined budget is included for
the proposed Mission and Ministry Council and the Board
of Directors. The full-time officers and administrative staff
continues to be 11, the same number as in 1972.

The 1992/93 unrestricted budget provides for 169 staff
persons, down 36 from the actual staffing of 205 at March
31. These reductions include transferring the costs of the
editors to Concordia Publishing House, certain staff trans-
ferred to restricted funding or to other positions to fill va-
cancies, as well as a number of retirements or ter-

_minations. The 169 staff level accounts for about 30 per-

cent of the total staff located at the International Center.

_ As a result of Districts falling short of their 1991 in-
tentions to national Synod by $990,000 and reducing their
1992 intentions by $1,855,000, an operating deficit of at
least $600,000 is anticipated for the 1991/92 fiscal year.
The 1992/93 budget includes $200,000 to begin amortizing
this deficit.

' The 1992/93 unrestricted budget accounts for 53. 6 per-
cent of the total budget at the national level of the Synod
in behalf of and in support of congregations. The spending
plan for the year also includes $25,016,000 of restricted
and board-designated funds which generally cannot be ex-
pended until funds are received for the specific purposes.

+ The unrestricted/restricted budgets of “the Synod” ac-
count for only part of the work conducted from the Inter-
national Center. Separate budgets for the corporate and/
or trust entities of the Worker Benefit Plans, the Lutheran
Church Extension Fund, The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod Foundation, as well as for the Office of Information
Systems are authorized by separate action of those other
entities of the Synod.

The floor committee has reviewed a number of reclas-
sifications made by the Board of Directors for reporting
purposes, All programs have been reviewed and similar
programs are now included in the same categories. The
following reclassifications were made in the 1992/93 ten-
tative budget and the 1991/92 budget was restated
accordingly:

1. All of the work of the Commission on Black Ministry
is reported in the Mission and Outreach major category.
This is comparable to all other ethnic ministries, which
have long been reported as Mission and Outreach.

2. The agencies and institutions and the institutional

chaplain portions of the Board for Social Ministry budget

are reclassified to Mission and Outreach. The primary pur-
pose of these efforts is in outreach, and they are compa-
rable to similar world mission activities and military
chaplains, which have long been reported as Mission and
Outreach.