Due to financial challenges and a renewed discussion of priorities, the Conference of Presidents (COP) decided in April to suspend calling for a director for the Commission on Youth Discipleship (Youth and Family Ministry). Instead, it will be reexamining the four open positions in the Congregation and Ministry Support Group (CMSG) to determine which to fill first.

When the COP decided in January to begin calling for the Youth Discipleship position, it had anticipated that more money might be available for another position. But due to the current budget situation, funding is available for only one of four vacant CMSG positions—director of Adult Discipleship; director of Youth Discipleship; coordinator of Early Childhood Education, a new position under Lutheran Schools; and director of Congregational Counseling—a new commission established by the COP in April that will provide short-term assessment and advice to congregations seeking to identify ways to improve their ministry.

When prioritizing these positions, the COP will be taking into account reactions from the June district conventions. Current CMSG directors and commission chairmen also have provided input about the positions, including what services still can be provided to congregations and called workers during an extended vacancy.

The COP hopes to extend a call for one of the positions in August. "There is an ongoing commitment through the CMSG to provide the best support that we can for our congregations," says John Seifert, Michigan District president and member of the COP Mission and Ministry Committee. "What we're concerned about is providing the widest support that we can across the synod."