The General Board of The Wesleyan Church met at the Church’s world headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, November 15-17, 2011. The board recommended permanent implementation of a new General Church administrative structure. The proposed new structure would involve moving from three General Superintendents to one and from seven General Officer department heads to four ministry area division chairs. Along with this recommendation, the board approved a task force to develop memorials that will make changes to The Discipline to reflect the recommended administrative structure. The proposed changes will be forwarded to General Conference in June 2012 for consideration.
In other business the General Board:
- Made minor changes to the Southern Wesleyan University by-laws.
- Approved Indiana Wesleyan University opening a College of Osteopathic Medicine.
- Recommended to the International Conference the establishment of a South Pacific Established Regional Conference, comprised of Wesleyan churches in Australia, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, and Bougainville.
- Changed the Wesleyan Medical Fellowship from being an Auxiliary to a fellowship known as Global Partners Health Network (GPHN).
- Approved the merger of the Kentucky and Tennessee districts.
- Made changes to General Board Policy as it relates to Wesleyan Native Ministries.
- Approved a name change for Bethany Bible College to Kingswood University.
Elected:
- Rev. Larry Salway and Rev. Mark O. Wilson to the Wesleyan Native Ministries Board of Directors.
- Mrs. Margie McFredrick, Mr. James Perry, Mr. John Storey, and Mr. Joe Schmidt to Wesleyan Investment Foundation Board of Directors.
- Mrs. Betty Lou Harris, Mr. James Luttrell, Rev. Troy Evans, Dr. Sharol Little, and Mrs. Dawn Marie Colaw to the Hephzibah Board of Directors.
Elected:
- Rev. John Gillette
- Mrs. Carole Hamm
- Mr. John Lee
- Dr. Greg McClain
- Mr. Clifton Seaman
- Rev. Conard Symonds
- Dr. Harry Wood
- Mrs. Evelyn Barnett
- Dr. David Markle
to the Houghton College Board of Trustees.
Elected:
- Mr. Paul Anthes
- Rev. John Bray
- Rev. Chris Conrad
- Dr. Mark Eckart
- Mrs. Petra Ray
- Mr. David P. Boyle
- Dr. Michael Carmichael
to the Indiana Wesleyan University Board of Trustees.
Elected:
- Rev. Wesley Smith
- Mr. Fran Gonzales
- Dr. Tom Harrison
- Mr. James Occhipinti
- Mrs. Verla Powers
- Mr. John Quinn
- Mr. Rob Swagger
to the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Board of Trustees.
Elected:
- Mr. William L. Benton
- Dr. Louise Carlton
- Mr. Donald L. Carr
- Mr. Thomas H. Cayce
- Dr. Benjamin W. Kelley
- Dr. John Ott
- Dr. Joseph R. Dongell
to the Southern Wesleyan University Board of Trustees.
