Task Force Members:
Eric Lundquist (Waukesha, First), David Perkins (Delavan, First), Karen Sundland (West Allis, First), Chakravarthy Zadda (Waukesha, First); Exofficio: Delight Antos, President (Ixonia, First)-2018 ONLY; Region Staff: Carolyn Dugan, John Jones, Marie Onwubuariri
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CURRENT REVISED PROPOSAL TO BE PRESENTED TO THE 2019 ANNUAL MEETING DELEGATES ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 @ The Green Lake Conference Center: BOM Proposal to 2019 Annual Meeting Delegates - Final
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Introduction and Rationale for the Changes to the ABC/WI Governance Structure - as shared with the 2018 Delegates to the Annual Meeting: 2018_Intro&Rationale
Please check back on this page for updates from the Governance Task Force.
Update 5/20/19
GTF met to finalize the nomination packet to be shared with the nominees to the Board of Managers and the Nominating Committee during this year's nominating process to be take place in summer 2019. Call for Nominations will be shared with the constituency by end of June.
Update 5/4/19
Board of Managers approved a final version of the Proposed Changes to the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, which will presented to the ABC/WI Constituency for vote and approval at the Saturday, October 12, 2019 Annual Meeting to be held at the Green Lake Conference Center. This document is now available for viewing and/or download on this webpage at the link above.
Next Steps:
- A hard copy of this document will be mailed to churches with the Summer 2019 Wisconsin Baptist and will be again be announced in the September 2019 Wisconsin Baptists, with instructions on how to access another hard copy;
- It will be on the agenda for vote by the delegates at the October 12, 2019 ABC/WI Annual Meeting.
- If passed, the new documents, and thereby the new governance structure, will be in effect immediately upon passing vote by the delegates.
- The Governance Task Force continues to work on documents that will assist in the transition, including documents that will be used by the Nominations Committee.
Update 4/28/19
The GTF met on 2/27/19 and incorporated all the items forwarded to them by the Board, and also did one final look through both documents and made slight additional changes due to mostly logistical reasons. They submitted final docs for review and approval by the Board at their 5/4/19 meeting.
Update 11/2/18
Proposals were presented to the delegates to the 2018 Annual Meeting. Highlights were verbally given regarding major areas of changes and deadlines for any further changes were announced: Oct 29, 2018 for Articles and Feb 1, 2019 for Bylaws.
Governance Task Force met on 10/30 to field any input to the changes to the proposals in preparation for the Board of Managers meeting on 11/3. One request came in from an Affiliating Body.
Board of Managers met on 11/3/18 and discussed one recommended change to the Articles of Incorporation -- wording to reference the "Wisconsin Baptist" to change to a more generic term to refer to official region communications. This was approved and will be revised in the proposed changes. We also discussed two other recommended to the Bylaws, which will formally voted upon in the May 2019 meeting. They also gave a recommendation to a response that came in from the Affliating Body, to be forwarded to the GTF.
Update 8/18/18
If you have questions about the proposed changes, please join us for an online Q&A session on Tuesday, October 2, from 7-8 PM. We will use Zoom video conferencing. See our calendar event for the log in details.
If you have questions but cannot make this online event, please contact Marie Onwubuariri at the region office.
Update 8/14/18
The Board of Managers has approved a proposal for changes to the ABC/WI Articles of Incorporation, which reflect changes to our governance structure. This proposal will be presented to the 2018 Annual Meeting delegates, and will be voted upon at the 2019 Annual Meeting. Click on the following link to view and/or download this proposal.
PROPOSAL PRESENTED AT 2018 ABC/WI ANNUAL GATHERING: Proposal for the 2018 Annual Meeting Delegates
Important Dates:
- October 13, 2018: Formal presentation of the Board Proposal to the delegates of the 2018 annual meeting
- October 29, 2018: Any request for changes to the proposed ARTICLES of INCORPORATION must be communicated to the Governance Task Force in order to be considered by the Board on their regularly scheduled meeting on November 3.
- February 1, 2019: Any request for changes to the proposed BYLAWS must be communicated to the Governance Task Force in order to be considered and incorporated, if appropriate, in order to be reviewed and approved by the Board on their regularly scheduled meeting on May 4.
- August, September: Final draft of new Articles and Incorporation and Bylaws to be sent out to member churches
- October 12, 2019: Delegates to the 2019 annual meeting will vote on the proposed changes to the Articles and Bylaws
- If approved, changes go into effect at the conclusion of the 2019 annual gathering.
Update 7/17/18
The Governance Task Force thanks all those who have participated in our feedback sessions and online survey during the 1st quarter of 2018. After taking the feedback into consideration and further discernment and refinement, the Task Force presented first draft revisions of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws to the Board of Managers for their discussion at their May 5, 2018 meeting at the University Christian Ministries at UW Milwaukee campus, one of our partner ministries. The Board members present provided helpful responses to outstanding questions and insight for further discernment. Following the Board meeting, the Governance Task Force met two additional times and had further consultation with our region attorney. They presented a second draft of revisions to the Article of Incorporation and Bylaws to the Board of Managers mid-June for further consideration and for online approval. The Board has since passed a motion to approve the proposed changes. Below is the timeline going forward for consideration for ABC/WI delegates:
August/September: Proposed Revisions to the ABC/WI Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws to be made public to our member churches and constituency via the Wisconsin Baptist.
October 13, 2018 Annual Meeting at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, Milwaukee: Proposed Documents to be formally presented to the delegates. No vote will be taken at this meeting. Process and timeline for any further changes will also be presented at this meeting.
October 2018 - April 2019: Governance Task Force to address any requests for further revisions and continue to develop supplemental support documents for new governance structure
May 2019: If needed, Board of Managers to approve any further revisions made to the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.
August/September 2019: Final version of revision of Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws to be made public to member churches.
October 2019 Annual Meeting: Delegates to vote on the revision to the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. If passed, changes will be in effect at the closure of the 2019 Annual meeting.
Timeline of Events:
2014-2016 -- Intentional observation and discussions occurred regarding the the functionality and effectiveness of our governance structure
Nov 2016 -- ABC/WI Board of Managers (BOM) approved a strategic plan for 2017-2020 that would include governance restructure.
Summer 2017 -- Open online survey was sent out that requested input into the future of Associations (official groupings of our member churches). See results HERE. Also, nomination process was opened, including a call for nominations for the Governance Task Force.
Oct 2017 -- Governance Task Force (GTF) formed via elections at the 2017 Annual Meeting: Eric Lundquist, David Perkins, Karen Sundland, Chakravarthy Zadda.
Nov 2017 - Ex-officio members were added to the task force: Delight Antos (President) and staff members Marie Onwubuariri, Carolyn Dugan, and John Jones
Dec 2017 and Jan 2018- GTF met under the leadership of Dr. Jeff Woods, ABCUSA Associate General Secretary for Regional Ministry
Jan 2018 - GTF published a draft of proposed changes to region governance Original Proposal
Jan-Mar 2018 - ABC/WI constituency had opportunity to review and meet with task force members to ask questions and give feedback, both in person and via an online feedback form
Mar-Apr 2018 - GTF met, in committee and sub-committee, to make revisions to structure based on feedback. Created first draft of revised Articles of Corporation and Bylaws for BOM (Board) review. First pass of legal review.
May 2018 - BOM discussed 1st draft of proposed changes at their Spring meeting and provided further guidance.
May-Jun 2018 - GTF met twice to make further revisions to documents and timeline.
Jun-Jul 2018 - Final draft of proposed changes to the Articles and Bylaws and timeline of presentation to the delegates were reviewed by BOM and eventually approved.
Aug 2018 - Proposal from the BOM published to ABC/WI constituency.
2018 Feedback Sessions
1/31 Commission on Congregational Mission Meeting
2/3 Commission on Camping Meeting
2/10 Commission on Ministry Meeting
2/18 Program Committee Meeting
2/21 Town Hall Meeting @ Region Office
3/9 Circuit Training (Small Church Training)
3/13 Online Town Hall Meeting - Zoom Platform
Plus Online Feedback Form provided