How are we organized?

About Us › Family › Structure

In order to accomplish the work Christ has given us, a management structure is in place. Day to day administration of the U.S. C&MA is accomplished through three groups. They are General Council, the Board of Directors and Officers and the President’s Cabinet.

General Council

Acknowledging Christ as Head of the Church and Scripture as the ultimate authority, General Council, representative of the entire membership, is the legislative body of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. When General Council convenes, attention is given to the following functions:

1. Advancing the mission and vision of The Christian and Missionary Alliance.
2. Evaluating the progress of the ministries of The Christian and Missionary Alliance.
3. Electing officers, transacting business, and enacting denominational policies.
4. Providing opportunities for worship, fellowship, spiritual renewal, inspiration to greater service, and the development of ministry skills.

Board of Directors and Officers

The governance of the C&MA is vested in our Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is subject to the legislation and policies enacted by the General Council, which is the representative body of the members of the C&MA. The number of directors, their classifications, if any, their term of office, and the manner of their election or appointment is determined according to the Bylaws of the C&MA from time to time in force.

Term 2009–2013

• Dr. Gary M. Benedict*, President
• Mr. Joseph D. Botana II
• Rev. Timothy M. Bubna
• Rev. Larry J. Carey
• Dr. Rockwell L. Dillaman
• Mr. Ronald E. Eastman
• Mrs. Janet K. Howard
• Dr. Richard P. Mann
• Mr. Richard B. Pease Jr.
• Dr. Larry G. Shelton**
• Rev. David K. Smith
• Mr. John A. Thomas
• Dr. David C. Thompson
• Dr. Donald A. Wiggins

Term 2011–2015

• Mr. David L. Bishop
• Rev. Jeffrey P. Brown
• Rev. C. Jose Bruno
• Dr. Charles L. Folkestad
• Rev. David L. Goodin*
• Dr. Dennis L. Krajacic
• Mr. Steven C. Lausell
• John
• Mr. Iván R. Martí Sr.
• Rev. Ronald J. Morrison
• Rev. Jonathan G. Schaeffer*
• Rev. R. Douglas Swinburne Jr.
• Rev. Ralph S. Trainer
• Mr. James O Woods III

* = ex officio
** = filling unexpired term

Executive Officers

• Gary M. Benedict, president (2009–2013)
• Jonathan G. Schaeffer, corporate vice president (2011–2015)
• David L. Goodin, corporate secretary (2011–2015)
• Kenneth E. Baldes, treasurer

Corporate Officers

• Kenneth E. Baldes, vice president for Operations/Finance/treasurer
• Robert L. Fetherlin, vice president for International Ministries
• Daniel (Dan) R. Wetzel, interim vice president for Church Ministries
• Dennis K. Whalen, vice president for Development

President’s Cabinet

The President’s Cabinet consists of the president as chairman, the corporate vice president, the corporate secretary, the vice president for administration, each vice president, and such others as the president desires to include from time to time. The Cabinet makes available to the president advice and information from all areas of administration. The president reports important matters and recommendations to the regular meetings of the Board of Directors.

Dr. Gary M. Benedict

Gary is the 11th president of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) in the United States. His four-year term began August 1, 2005.

Benedict is known for his commitment to building relationships. “I’m the kind of guy who brings people together,” he said. “My job is to move people to their God-given purposes.” Benedict sees his election to the C&MA presidency as the convergence point of his life experiences.

A Minnesota native, Benedict graduated from Iowa State University in Ames with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1972 he graduated from St. Paul Bible College (now Crown College) with a degree in missions. After pastoring churches in Nebraska and Wisconsin, Benedict returned to Crown College to serve as director of development from 1982 to 1988. In 1989 he was elected superintendent of the Northwestern District of the C&MA.

He became the 13th president of Crown College in 1997, having received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Nyack College in New York. During his eight years as president, enrollment at Crown has increased by 60 percent.

In 2004 Benedict was elected corporate vice president for the U.S. C&MA. He was chosen to serve as president of The Alliance during General Council in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I love The Alliance,” says Benedict. “God has given us a message and a mandate. Our central message is Jesus and Jesus only. The outflow of that is missions.”

The Alliance is a 118-year-old missions denomination with nearly 2,000 churches attended by 420,000 people in the United States. Internationally, C&MA national churches and ministries are located in 84 countries with 3 million followers of Jesus in 18,000 churches. The Alliance is ordinary people, empowered by an extraordinary God, multiplying communities of Christ throughout the world.

Benedict and his wife, Betty, have been married for more than 45 years and have two children and three grandchildren.

Mr. Kenneth E. Baldes

Kenneth serves as treasurer for The Christian and Missionary Alliance and is vice president for Operations/Finance. In this position he is responsible for Finance, Alliance Benefits, Technology, Facilities, and the Service Center. He also serves as the liaison between the C&MA and several supporting organizations.

Mr. Baldes received his B.S. in Business Administration from Houghton College in Houghton and an M.B.A. in Finance from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.

Formerly he was senior vice president for HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and most recently was responsible for leading business optimization initiatives in the Operations Division. He has had almost 20 years experience in banking and financial services with proven skills in leadership, strategy, team building, change management, administration, and problem resolution. He has a broad business knowledge, including audit, financial management, operations, product management, business development, and risk management.

Mr. Baldes is a member of North Springs Alliance Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado where he serves as chair of the missions committee and small group leader. He has held previous church leadership positions as an elder, board member, church treasurer and assistant treasurer and men’s Sunday school class teacher.

He is married to Christy and they have three children: Tyler, Kailie, and Jeremy. While he serves in the ministry of administration, his calling is from John 15:16 that says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”

Dr. Robert L. Fetherlin

Robert serves as vice president for International Ministries of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. In this position he oversees the worldwide missionary outreach of the C&MA. It is Bob’s passion to see the C&MA used by God as a strategic tool to help complete the Great Commission. This means creative initiatives to develop evangelism, church planting, and ministry—training opportunities in nations where there are still major segments of the population who have never heard the truth about Jesus Christ.

For seven years prior to becoming the vice president of International Ministries in 1998, Bob was the regional director of Africa for the C&MA. He supervised 300 missionaries working in seven countries. In addition, he worked with national church leaders in a total of nine African nations. Bob and his wife, Esther, and two children, served for 10 years as missionaries in Mali, West Africa, and were involved in theological education, youth ministry, evangelism, and church planting. He also was involved in field leadership. More than 20,000 churches worldwide make the C&MA a global missionary church.

Nearly 90 percent of those churches are overseas in 81 countries on every continent. Approximately 850 U.S. Alliance missionaries minister in 48 of these nations.

Rev. Dennis K. Whalen

Dennis has served as vice president for Development since March 2007, giving oversight to the C&MA’s Communications, Marketing, and Funding teams.

Dennis’ passion is to help prepare Christ’s Bride, the Church, for His return. “I challenge my staff to do all that they do with this end goal in mind,” he says. “In whatever job they perform—whether in the area of video, Web design, alife, editorial, marketing, or funding—our goal is to help the Church become the best prepared, most beautifully adorned Bride she can be in anticipation of Christ’s return.”

To help equip the local church, the C&MA’s Development area of ministry produces resources that:

1. help people understand what it means to be “Alliance”
2. respond to the needs of our workers and supporting constituency
3. present opportunities for deeper levels of ministry involvement

—all in support of the C&MA vision to know Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King; and to complete His Great Commission.

Dennis graduated from Nyack College with a degree in sociology in 1977. He then attended Alliance Theological Seminary (ATS) where he graduated with a master’s degree in divinity in 1983. Dennis had planned to serve overseas as a missionary until a sudden and severe illness overtook him and nearly stole his life. He attributes surviving that ordeal with God’s immense mercy and grace, as well as the fervent prayers of Alliance people worldwide.

Dennis has served on staff at Alliance churches in Toccoa, Georgia; and New City, New York. He has since served as the director for Church and Alumni Relations and director of Admissions at Nyack College; as vice president of Church Relations at World Relief; and as vice president for Development with The Orchard Foundation.

Dennis and his wife Patty attend Bridgeway Alliance Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have three grown children.

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