Meeting Minutes List

Describe the item or answer the question so that site visitors who are interested get more information. You can emphasiFinance, Administration, & Benefits Commission
AGENDA NOTES – THURSDAY, September 24, 2026
ATTENDING:
1 Harrison Bell
2 Sam Gregory
3 Vivian Kinnear
4 Bishop Auta (NT)
5 Luvo Thwethwa (SAT)
6 Sung-Soo Kim
7 Jennifer Lineberry OUT
14 MEMBERS; 3 STAFF ATTENDING
8 Sherry Austin
9 Chris Akers
10 Jim Noble
11 Joy Perry
12 Matt Seel
13 Rhonda Bourgeois 14 Richard Croll
15 Olandor Boyce (LT) STAFF:
1 Molly Williams
2 Mike Schafer
3 Matt Conover
WELCOME AND PRAYER –HARRISON
Welcome Lyndsey Clark of the North Carolina Annual Conference, Operations Director at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Goldsboro, NC. Her background is in marketing, human resources, finance, payroll, and benefits.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING – VIVIAN
Sam moved to approve, and Richard seconded to approve the August 20th meeting minutes and executive summary, including the edit identifying and celebrating the seven non-US annual conferences that are now paying Connectional Funding.
2027 GUIDESTONE HEALTH INSURANCE RENEWAL DISCUSSION - CHRIS AND MATTHEW Chris presented the negotiated 2027 GuideStone rates, reflecting a 12% increase across all plans. (The 2026 increase was the first since the contract began in August 2024.)
Following a lengthy discussion of the impact on clergy and the church, the Commission approved eliminating the Health Choice 1000 (HC1000) plan and replacing it with Health Choice 2000 (HC2000) to address over-insurance. (Those currently enrolled in the HC1000 will automatically be switched over during the open enrollment period unless they elect a different plan.) The HC2000 monthly premium for clergy will offer a decrease from the HC1000 plan, which would have increased to $144.86, to $88.22, while maximum out-of-pocket costs will increase.
Dental rates will decrease 13.5%, vision rates 5.4%, and disability, life, and accidental coverage rates will remain unchanged.
Matt Seel moved to approve the 2027 rates, and Chris seconded. The Commission approved the floor method (fixes church contribution regardless of plan chosen) with four plans: Health Choice 2000, Health Choice 5000, Health Saver 2000, and Health Saver 4000.
1 | P a g e
The recommendation will be presented to the Connectional Council on Monday by Harrison, Sam, and Matt. Matthew will prepare a one-page summary noting that annual conference staff is eligible to participate.
AUDIT ENGAGEMENT FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2025 – HARRISON AND MATTHEW Harrison explained the audit history:
The first complete audit covers July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
The transition to a calendar fiscal year in 2024 created an 18-month gap period (July 1, 2023, through December 31, 2024) that has not yet been audited.
Harrison proposed skipping the 18-month gap period for now and proceeding directly to audit calendar year 2025 to meet the Lilly Foundation's disbursement requirement. He suggested that the pre-2025 period could potentially be excluded long-term, as the GMC operated under a different corporate structure (the Transitional Leadership Council) prior to January 1, 2025.
Matthew confirmed the auditing firm is Clark, Schaefer, and Hackett, based in Columbus, Ohio. He recommended retaining them due to their existing familiarity with GMC policies, procedures, and the complexities of the WesPath transition, and estimated completion within one to two months, ideally by year-end.
Olandor asked whether the audit covers the global church financials or pension-specific matters; Matthew confirmed it is the global church financial statement audit. He also raised the question of comparative figures typically required in audits; Matthew explained that because the pre-2025 entity was a different corporation, no meaningful comparatives exist.
Jim moved to approve the proposal; Matt Seel seconded. The vote was to approve.
AGENDA ITEMS BEFORE 11/1/26
1. 10/8/26 Meeting: Health Insurance Task Force mandated by General Conference to develop a new US clergy health insurance model. Composition and scope will be discussed. Rhonda has the name of a potential resource for the task force; General Conference 2026 Petitions and Resolutions affecting the Commission.
2. 10/22/26 Meeting:
3. New Commission November meeting date to be determined so that it accommodates non-US Commission members.
CLOSING PRAYER – SAM
NEXT MEETING: October 8, 2026, at 7 AM Central Time and October 22, 2026, at 7 AM.
2 | P a g eze this text with bullets, italics or bold, and add links.