The Great Lakes Conference exists as a collection of churches that join together in common mission. There would be many practical difficulties in 80+ churches deciding on how to implement the mission of the collective churches, so the board is elected to carry out the desires of the churches. The Executive Board is an intentionally diverse group in terms of race, gender, clergy/lay and location. This diversity allows the board to be aware of, and give wisdom to finding solutions to the many different challenges facing rural, urban, suburban, large, small, affluent, and under resourced churches. The goal is to have healthy and missional churches. Towards this end, the board works with our Superintendent Garth McGrath and the GLC staff to address the needs of the churches, providing feedback and insight on missional strategy, reviewing the budget and other financial realities, discussing difficult situations, and supporting our staff. The board seeks what is best for all of the churches of the Great Lakes Conference.