A tour of the new denominational website

A Corp Board members get a sneak peek at the new pcusa.org, which will debut later this year

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

Ian Hall discusses projected revenue and expenses figures included in the proposed unified budget for 2025 and 2026. (Photo by Rick Jones)

LOUISVILLE — Ian Hall, the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation, took a mockup of the denomination’s new website for a spin Thursday afternoon, and members of the A Corp Board were suitably impressed.

The new website, pcusa.org, will be unveiled soon. Because it’s still under development, Hall couldn’t yet show board members what the new site is capable of. But he did manage to whet their appetite to take a test drive of their own in the near future.

Work on the new website began more than four years ago with research on what users most want out of the new unified denominational website. More than 400 users — including mid council and other ministry leaders, Spanish- and Korean-speaking people, everyday Presbyterians, seminarians and worship leaders — completed surveys. Hall said what they want out of the new website includes a better response to Spanish and Korean speakers, effective search capabilities, simplified language, intuitive navigation, user-grouped content, and a site that’s modern and youthful to reach a younger audience.

They also expressed a need for support and feedback, and so the new website will have a help desk akin to the one that aids commissioners and others during General Assembly every two years.

Hall described the new website as “alive.”

“Like the technology that powers it, pcusa.org will continue to grow and adapt to the church’s changing needs and will never be stagnant,” he said. “Website improvements will occur continually based on feedback, analytics and overall site use.”

When Hall displayed a mockup of the home page featuring the message, “Reformed and Always Reforming,” the Rev. Bill Teng, an A Corp Board member, wondered if it should instead read “Reformed and Always Being Reformed.” Hall said he’d check on the wording.

“We can’t over-articulate how many people have worked so hard on this,” Hall told the board. “It’s been a lot of work by a lot of people.”

“I’m anxious to see it and use it,” Board Co-Chair Carol Winkler said. “It’ll be exciting when it’s launched.”

Board members approved compensation awards that will go into effect April 1, 2025. In past years, those awards have been given across the board. This time, the board approved 5% raises for employees making under $50,000 annually, 3% for those in the $50,000-$100,000 range, and 2% for employees who are paid more than $100,000 annually.

“It doesn’t increase the budget,” said Ruth Gardner, the A Corp’s human resources director. “It makes it more equitable by rewarding those in the lower pay ranges more.”

Gardner said 56 employees are in the first group, 218 are in the middle group and 36 are in the highest-paid group.

Board members also remembered their former colleague Wes Scovanner, an A Corporation Board member from the Presbyterian Foundation who recently resigned due to health considerations and died soon after that. His memorial service is at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday at Memorial Presbyterian Church, 32 Sevilla Street in St. Augustine, Florida.

Financial statements

Hall and Controller Denise Hampton took the board through financial reports from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30. Total assets stood at $741 million, a $31.5 million increase compared to the comparable prior-year period. Total liabilities were $24 million, up by $1.7 million compared to the same period. Total net assets increased by $30 million.

This year’s total income is $16.3 million more than the budget, primarily due to year-to-date unrealized market gains on investments.

Noting that 2024 saw a change from accrual to cost basis accounting for per capita contributions, the report noted that contributions were nearly $18,000 over budget. Special Offerings receipts were $1.1 million below budget.

Investment return was $16.9 million greater than the budget because of unrealized gains on investments, which along with unrealized losses are not budgeted. Investment return lagged last year’s return by $8.1 million.

On the expense side, total expenses are $10.4 million less than budget for the first three quarters of 2024 and $4.9 million more than last year’s expenses. Compared to the budget, salaries and benefits are $1.9 million less than the budget due to position vacancies but $2 million higher than last year’s total to date.