General Conference

[Innocuous]

I am told that St. Louis went into the whole very deeply to pay for GF this year and last year. I the numbers I heard were so unbelievable that I hesitate to mention them. How much did they go into the hole? Anybody know?

[mizpeh]

You're not true to your name, are you?

1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.

[meBNme]

one BEEEEEEELLION dollars.

[RandyWayne]

Originally Posted by meBNme

one BEEEEEEELLION dollars.

Mawwww hawww hawww HAWW!

[Innocuous]

Originally Posted by mizpeh

You're not true to your name, are you?

1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.

???? I'm just asking a question. It concerns me that in times of economic uncertainty that money would be wasted like this. I'm not trying to start anything here. It's an honest, serious question. I was staggered by the figures I was given and want to know if others have heard the same thing. You're partially correct though, I'm definitely not insipid or pallid.

[Sam]

Well, I do not attend a UPC church so it is none of my business what the cost was. But, of course I'm nosy now that I've seen this thread.

Let's hope whoever authorized the cost believes that it is good stewardship with the money that God's people entrusted to the organization.

[secretone]

Up until they started charging registration they were losing around 500,000 thousand a year. Registration has brought it down to around 350,000 to 400,000 thousand dollars.

Future conferences will be held in venues that will not cost as much, once they get through the contracts that have already been signed.

To the credit of HQ, they currently have a committee that is evaluating the operations of WEC to recommend ways to be more efficient. It is very possible that programs and perhaps even divisions will be cut.

[Stephanas]

Originally Posted by Innocuous

I am told that St. Louis went into the whole very deeply to pay for GF this year and last year. I the numbers I heard were so unbelievable that I hesitate to mention them. How much did they go into the hole? Anybody know?

The terminology that you are using is needlessly negative. Gneral Conference is essentially a business meeting and a large scale promotional event. Why would it be expected to break even or make a profit? It would seem reasonable to view General Conference as an expense that is necessary for the function of the organization. Another major role of the conference is to unify and inspire the membership, something akin to a large scale corporate conference. National conferences promote a national identity, and without the General Conference the organization will eventually become a fragmented disconnected collection of fiefdoms.

Would corporate America talk about how much they went in the hole putting on a major sales conference, or a corporate retreat? General Conference brings together the target demographic for national promotions. Its value as a promotional meeting alone is worth a large part of the cost.

[meBNme]

How much is a soul worth?

General conference alone raises money that sends foreign and home missionaries into the field that otherwise may not go at all, or would take much much longer to go.

The souls that are reached as a result, are they worth the money spent?

If it were your soul that was saved, your life that was reached and changed, your marriage that was saved. Would you think it was worth it?



How many souls are reached as a result of the things that take place at the general conference?


How much is a soul worth?

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by Stephanas

The terminology that you are using is needlessly negative. Gneral Conference is essentially a business meeting and a large scale promotional event. Why would it be expected to break even or make a profit? It would seem reasonable to view General Conference as an expense that is necessary for the function of the organization. Another major role of the conference is to unify and inspire the membership, something akin to a large scale corporate conference. National conferences promote a national identity, and without the General Conference the organization will eventually become a fragmented disconnected collection of fiefdoms.

Would corporate America talk about how much they went in the hole putting on a major sales conference, or a corporate retreat? General Conference brings together the target demographic for national promotions. Its value as a promotional meeting alone is worth a large part of the cost.

I agree.

I think there should be a reasonable registration fee of $200 - $300 for the week, with an exception for free attendance to any biz meeting with voting, and the balance footed by headquarters.