On Thursday, 14 September 2023, the British Union Conference (BUC) Executive Committee held its first-ever entirely paperless meeting. Using new software called 'Onboard', all the documents were presented through a portal, and all those present used their own devices to access them.
Speaking soon after the meeting, BUC Executive Secretary John Surridge said, "It worked better than was expected. There were no glitches, and committee members appreciated how the electronic agenda linked with the relevant documentation." Although the primary intention when purchasing the software was to improve productivity, a welcome additional benefit was reduced paper use. "If we had printed everything out, as we used to do many years ago," Pastor Surridge continued, "we would have used over 3,000 sheets of A4 paper, even printing double-sided. So, that's a big cost saving and an environmental saving."
Going paperless for the Executive Committee is just part of a much broader process of using electronic applications in the Church. One of these is the 7me app, which is being used by thousands of members for information, communication, and online donations.
Other items presented on the Executive Committee included new and innovative graphical portrayals of the Church's finances, rolled out by BUC Treasurer Wederly Aguiar.
The Irish Mission's strategy for becoming a Conference was another exciting highlight, underlining the continued growth in Church membership in the Irish Mission and across all the Fields.
We thank God for the way He continues to lead the Church right across the British Union Conference.
