Concerned by a lack of transparency and the failure to account for $1.2 million in financial reserves, 11 churches in the Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest have written to the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) seeking changes in financial reporting and procedures.
The letter was prompted by events at the 44th General Assembly in Memphis, where commissioners were asked to approve an annual budget that provided little information about income and expenditures. When commissioners attempted to ask questions about the budget and the lack of documentation, the moderator and Stated Clerk provided no answers.
One of the key concerns in the letter is the expenditure of $1.2 million in unrestricted reserves during a three-year period. According to documents provided by the National Leadership Team (NLT), unrestricted reserves shrank from $1,439,283 in 2021 to $234,305 in 2024. Of that total, $958,000 was spent in one year, between 2021 and 2022. This drawdown of reserves had not been previously reported, and the NLT has provided no detailed accounting of how these funds were spent.
The letter was sent to the OGA on February 26 by a group of teaching and ruling elders who reviewed the audited EPC financial statements for the 2022 and 2023. Although it does not allege any wrongdoing, the letter describes a loss of trust in the EPC national leadership.
“While it can be agreed the churches of the denomination support the EPC generously, there are significant concerns, on our part, that the mechanisms of financial reporting as well as the fiduciary responsibilities associated with the stewardship of denominational funds may be broken,” the letter stated.
One of the authors of the letter is Brad Tedrow, a ruling elder RE at Oakville Presbyterian Church in Shedd, Ore., who has 30 years of experience working with federal, state, and local government agencies in the area of financial management. According to Tedrow, the financial reporting of the EPC falls short of the standards expected of a non-profit organization.
“To simply present a budget made up of undocumented and unexplained line items to the General Assembly responsible for approving the annual budget would appear to put the commissioners in an untenable position,” said Tedrow. “No organization I have worked for or have been associated with on a volunteer basis has ever put their approving body in this scenario.”
According to Tedrow, the goal in writing the letter was to improve financial reporting and restore trust in the EPC. Concerns raised in the letter include:
- Lack of transparency in the management and adherence to the budget presented and adopted by the GA.
- Presentation of budgets at the 44th General Assembly dropped the “annualized and actual” columns from the budget request. These columns were deliberately removed in order to be less confusing, according to an explanation offered by the National Leadership Team in an encyclical sent to EPC churches.
- Lack of quarterly or monthly financial reporting to the Presbyteries on the General Assembly Budget on a YTD basis.
- Lack of budget narrative with the budget request presented to the General Assembly commissioners, explaining and supporting each line-item level of funding, as well as accounting for line-item differences between years.
- The budget request to the GA does not — but should — include personnel compensation and benefit tables supporting salary and benefits for each staff position supported by the annual budget.
- Lack of a program plan which, in conjunction with activity-based accounting of expenditures, could provide basic cost benefit information to determine the cost effectiveness of reaching program performance benchmarks.
- Lack of transparency regarding the accounting and expenditure of undesignated reserves.
- Lack of easy access to audited financial statements.
- Questions regarding the procurement and use of professional auditing services.
- In audited statements, budget information for the OGA was combined with EPC World Outreach and EPC Benefit Resources, making it impossible to determine the financial condition of the OGA. These budgets should be reported separately.
Discussion between the 11 churches and the Office of the General Assembly began in October 2024 when the group met with Stated Clerk Dean Weaver at a meeting of the Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest. During that meeting, Weaver shared financial information that is normally included in the GA Handbook but was not provided at the 44th General Assembly.
In a letter dated April 24, the National Leadership Team sent a lengthy response to the 11 churches providing additional financial information. Although the NLT agreed to implement some changes in financial reporting, the response did not address all the concerns raised in the letter, including cost details of the $1.2 million in expended reserves.
The National Leadership Team urged the 11 churches not to share any of the correspondence with social media or the press, claiming it was private. However, the PNW churches said their main purpose in writing the letter was financial transparency, not privacy. They were intentional about following the Matthew 18 process by initially keeping the conversation between the 11 churches and the NLT. However, they were aware of others in the EPC that shared their concerns, and after seven months of communicating with the NLT, they believed it was time to share their concerns with the larger church. They stated, “This is not done lightly, but out of love for the church, a desire for faithful stewardship, and a commitment to truth and accountability.”
The PNW churches said they were grateful for the positive steps the OGA has taken, including: (1) Issuing quarterly financial updates; (2) Restoring the “annualized” columns in the budget as requested; (3) Assuring that the CFO and members of the NLT’s Finance Committee be present to answer any questions at the GA’s Standing Committee on Administration; and (4) Continuing the dialogue toward greater transparency and accountability. However, the churches expressed regret that other concerns were not addressed and that the financial reports at the upcoming General Assembly don’t provide enough information to vote properly on the EPC budget.
“We deeply appreciate the time and effort the NLT has taken to work with us in addressing our concerns, and we applaud them for the changes they have made,” said TE John Carpenter, Pastor of Oakville Church. “We are grateful for their commitment to continue to work with us toward greater transparency and provide robust financial reports. Our hope remains that these conversations will lead to greater openness, shared understanding, and ultimately a more healthy and united church.”
Churches that signed the letter include the Sessions of Alder Community Church in Eatonville, Wash.; Bickleton Evangelical Community Church in Bickleton, Wash.; Community Presbyterian Church of Omak, Wash.; First Presbyterian Church in Davenport, Wash.; Grace Community Church in Weed, Calif.; Jacksonville Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Ore.; McCloud Presbyterian Church in McCloud, Calif.; Oakville Presbyterian Church in Shedd, Ore.; Parkway Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Wash.; Terrace Heights Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Yakima, Wash.; and Wabash Presbyterian Church in Auburn, Wash.
Asked to comment on the Letter, the National Leadership Team expressed disappointment that the PNW churches had chosen to make their concerns public.
“Although our accounting practices have remained virtually unchanged in the last eight years, we recognize that times have changed and we agree that greater transparency and accountability are important,” said NLT Chairman Joe Kim.
Regarding the $1.2 million in financial reserves, Kim said the funds were invested in the EPC’s Strategic Priorities.
“The NLT approved monies given by our congregations, from their POI, which were beyond what was needed to support our administrative budget, to go directly toward the advancement of the EPC’s mission, with a focus on Church Planting and Church Health.” Kim said a breakdown of those expenditures was included in information sent to the 11 churches.
In response, the 11 churches said the information provided by the NLT did provide general information but no detailed accounting as to how the $1.2 million was spent and the cost of providing these services.
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