On April 14, 2024 the Wisconsin Conference held their annual Statical & Financial Review. President Titus Naftanaila reviewed the blessings received over the past year and encouraged the committee to give gratitude to God for what He has done. He also discussed the opportunities that have been presented for furthering the mission of the conference.
Following the president’s report, Executive Secretary/Treasurer, Amir Gulzar presented statistics on membership changes over the past several years as well as a tithe comparison with the other conferences in the Lake Union. He continued with a deeper look at Wisconsin Conference tithe and how that is distributed for various ministries around the conference. He concluded his report with a discussion on the budget for the conference including how funds were used in 2023 and the proposal for 2024.
Presentations continued with a report regarding the Wisconsin Corporation and how the monies in the Plant, Annuity and Endowments funds are used and distributed.
Next, Ministerial Director, Adam Case, shared statistics on the pastors and churches in the conference. He pointed out that although the division is facing a pastor shortage, God has blessed Wisconsin with good pastors and volunteer lay pastors to serve their districts. Currently there are 25 pastors and 7 Volunteer Lay Pastors in the conference. He shared how the Ministerial Department is fulfilling the conference mission focus area of leadership development through mentorship and training events throughout the year.
Case went on to discuss the baptism totals over the past seven years giving the total number in 2023 of 241 individuals. Next he shared an overview of the 3-year evangelism plan called “Reach Wisconsin” with the goal of having 8,000 members in Wisconsin by the year 2026. He finished his report by sharing the developments in the process of starting an Urban Center of Influence in the Milwaukee area.
Sue Nelson, Superintendent for Education next made her presentation regarding the teachers and schools in the conference. She shared that there are currently 51 education staff and 12 schools in Wisconsin which serve 396 students. Nelson also shared how the Education Department is fulfilling the mission focus area of leadership development through annual teacher’s meetings and training opportunities. She went on to show how our schools are fulfilling their mission of “Developing Leaders Today who will Walk with Jesus into Eternity.”
Nelson also shared a report about the updates happening on the campus of Wisconsin Academy. She then discussed the value she has seen in the services provided to our teachers and students by Mindy Salyers, a licensed counselor. She concluded her report by sharing about the new online school option, “Wisconsin Virtual Academy.”
The final report of the day came from Bill Ochs, Planned Giving & Trust Services Director. Ochs gave an overview of the services provided by his department and shared that they have helped hundreds of individuals with estate planning for over 50 years. He reports that they have maintained a Level A accreditation, which is the highest standard in the denomination. Currently the department is responsible for over 400 estate planing files and in 2023 they created or updated 33 estate plans. He closed his report by sharing that in just the last 5 years the Wisconsin Trust Department has been gifted over 2.9 million dollars through estate planning and that over 50% of these gifts have be given directly to local churches and schools.
Reflecting on the day’s meeting, President Naftanaila said, “The Finance, Lay Advisory, and Executive Committee played crucial roles in analyzing and approving the budget for 2024. We celebrated God’s provisions for 2023 and look forward to a blessed 2024. Thanks to your invaluable contributions, every department and ministry is determined to use the allocated resources effectively.”
Laurella Case, Communication Coordinator