General Assembly Agenda Released
The agenda of items to be considered by the General Council at the 73rd Church of God General Assembly has been released and is posted on the Church of God Web site.
The General Council consists of all ordained bishops present and registered at the upcoming Assembly which will take place on July 27-30, 2010 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Pre-release of the agenda allows the group of ministers to peruse the document before the first session which begins at 8:30 a.m. on July 27. The theme of the General Assembly (GA2010) is “Engaging the Missional Mandate.”
The first order of business at GA2010 will be the nomination of church leaders, beginning with the International Executive Committee. This will be followed by the nomination of department leaders and nomination of the International Executive Council will follow.
There are 17 items on the agenda beginning with a Mission and Vision on fulfilling the Great Commission and church planting. Other items which will be discussed and debated include a measure on the further advancement of women in ministry. The International Council of the Church of God, consisting of representatives from around the world, met in September 2009 and recommended to the International Executive Council that the issue of women becoming ordained bishops be placed on the 2010 General Council Agenda. During the Regional Listening Tours conducted by the International Executive Committee in early 2009, several requests for consideration of this item were also voiced. The motions reflect these calls from the field.
At the 2008 Assembly a motion was presented to reinstate the mandatory pastoral preference vote every four years. The motion was referred to the Executive Council to study the development of a possible Pastoral Review System. A report from the committee will be presented.
The General Council will also consider adopting a quadrennial International General Assembly period. Research will be presented which would show that the Church of God “could accomplish our mission more effectively, provide a sense of momentum, embrace positive change, and help realize a mission-focused future.”
In the restructuring process of the International Offices, the International Executive Committee recommended to the International Executive Council that the title of the Youth and Christian Education department, director and assistant director be changed to reflect Youth and Discipleship. There will also be a recommendation to delete the offices of the director and assistant director of Evangelism and Home Missions. Many of the previous functions of this department have become separate ministries leaving Senior Adult Ministry, Jail Ministry and the Southwest Indian Ministry as the primary functions of this department.
In another item of business, General Council members will discuss the restructuring of the International Offices. Several positions identified in the Minutes for various departments were recommended to be unfunded positions in the budget for 2010–2011. Proposed amendments to the Minutes to reflect these changes can be found in the informational document titled Proposed Changes Necessary in the Minutes to Reflect the Restructure Proposals. These documents are not open to debate or amendment. They are provided for informational purposes only and are available for review on the Church of God web site under the GA2010 link.
Other items on the agenda include the purpose of the general assembly, vacancies of executive committee offices and eligibility for an appointed office. Item #17 on the agenda deals with affiliation with the Church of God. The motion seeks to redefine what it means to be affiliated with the Church of God. If adopted, it would create associate church status for non-Church of God churches. The associate church retains ownership of its property and subscribes to the doctrine and polity of the Church of God. In the event a pastoral change is needed, the governing board of the associate church works in conjunction with the administrative bishop in the selection of a pastor.
All items discussed and passed by the General Council are subject to debate and ratification by the Internationa General Assembly which will meet in session on Friday, July 30.
The complete agenda as well as explanatory notes about each agenda item is available at www.churchofgod.org under the GA2010 link.
