The purpose of the
General Assembly Council shall be:

• To identify the Cumberland Presbyterian Church's vision for ministry and to help its General Assembly boards and other agencies, synods, presbyteries, and congregations develop an understanding of their particular roles in the implementation of this ministry;

• To be the primary long and short range planning agency for the Church, striving to assure that all segments will be working on a common mission and that duplications and gaps in the Church's ministry will be minimized;

• To promote the effective distribution of human and material resources in order that the various facets of the Church's ministry be carried out in an effective and efficient manner;

• To provide and/or insure that the General Assembly has all relevant information concerning programs, budgets, and the general work of the Church in order that the General Assembly may make wise and informed decisions;

• To unify the planning, programming/implementing, and budgeting of all General Assembly boards and other agencies for the purpose of achieving an integrated, coordinated, and prioritized Church program and to submit all such budgets to the General Assembly for approval;

• To review the reports and coordinate the recommendations of all General Assembly boards and other agencies and to advise the General Assembly concerning such reports and recommendations in light of the Church's prioritized program.

• To be responsible for Our United Outreach by planning and recommending Our United Outreach income and expense budgets to the General Assembly, receiving and receipting Our United Outreach income, and distributing Our United Outreach in accordance with actions and budgets of the General Assembly.

• To have authority in management of Church Center property.

• To participate through an active consultative role with General Assembly boards in the process of employing principal executive officers who serve on the General Assembly Council.

• In the event the office of Stated Clerk is vacated by resignation, action or policy for General Assembly or for any other reason, the Coordinating Committee of the General Assembly Council will assume the responsibility for the oversight of the office until a Stated Clerk is elected by the General Assembly and begins work.

• When the office of Stated Clerk is vacated, the General Assembly Council shall conduct the search for a candidate and subsequently present their nomination to the General Assembly. The Council may appoint a Search Committee which shall be composed of elected voting members of the Council