With one WEC insider decribing headquarters as "a morgue" these days .... due to layoffs and entire departments, like Media Missions, being scrapped ...
That the org is hurting financially can no longer be denied.
It now appears that the Home Missions Division has started to make some major cutbacks as well.
Many of HMD's sub departments seem to have been told to make serious cuts in their budgets, once again.
Spanish Evangelism Ministries, for example, which held an annual conference every year from 1978 to 2010, will move to a bi-annual conference (every two years).
Lack of attendance in recent years, personal finances, and costs of venues being cited as the major reason for this move. In lieu, only Spanish ministers will meet on off years.
Personally, it saddens me that this once thriving department has been forced to take on this format. Albeit, the Youth Division does this as well.
I was five years old when the first annual Spanish conference happened in the Bronx, New York in 1978 when it was originally organized by John Hopkins.
At one time, it appeared that SEM would become its own distinct division. However, it is starting to look like this is further from reality today than it was when I almost took a job as an administrative assistive for SEM, five years ago.
(For more on SEM go to
http://spanishevangelism.net)
My dad who served on the SEM board would be disappointed but not suprised.
Denominationalism is on life support.