Church of the Nazarene General Treasurer Marilyn J. McCool announced her resignation effective May 2 in a letter to the Board of General Superintendents.

“Marilyn McCool’s years of excellent service and the gift she has been to the Church of the Nazarene are profoundly appreciated,” said General Superintendent David A. Busic, chair of the BGS. “She has communicated discernment into complicated matters to the Board of General Superintendents, and we have valued her wisdom.”

McCool expressed gratitude for the honor and privilege of serving the global Church of the Nazarene in this role for more than 14 years.

“My reaction to my election in 2001 was one of disbelief when announced to me by a telephone call to my bank office from General Superintendent Paul G. Cunningham,” she said. “It seemed like an impossible assignment to follow in the footsteps of former general treasurers John Stockton, Norman Miller, and Robert Foster. However, God’s definite calling from my 27-year banking career to use my experience to serve the church in this way during this period in my life has been continually affirmed.”

General Board President Charles A. Davis Jr. has worked closely with McCool during her time as general treasurer.

“Her knowledge of budgeting, business, and finance are without equal, and her ability to work with others has made her very successful in building a true team when it comes to finance at the Global Ministry Center,” he said. “I speak for the entire General Board in expressing our thanks for her ministry and wishing her God's best."

During McCool’s tenure, the denomination’s headquarters was relocated from Kansas City, Missouri, USA, to the Global Ministry Center in Lenexa, Kansas, USA. 

McCool coordinated many aspects of the move, including the sale of the former headquarters’ property in Kansas City to the Kaufmann Foundation for a charter school and land purchase, construction, fundraising, and financing of the GMC.

Another notable transaction included the sale of the Church of the Nazarene Loan Fund to the Wesleyan Investment Foundation to better serve the loan needs of Nazarene churches. The 20-year building debt of the GMC was paid in full in less than three years from the loan sale proceeds.

When McCool first implemented online giving services for local churches, districts, and individuals, she recruited one church to just try it. Today, nearly 100,000 transactions of more than US$33 million dollars are processed annually through online giving to fund the mission.

The economic recession of 2007 to 2011 and the approval of a new global World Evangelism Fund system of giving required sizable operational budget cuts, including GMC staff reductions. 

“While being part of many once-in-a-lifetime challenges and changes since 2002, the global friendships of God's servants will remain highly treasured for life,” McCool said.

Financial accountability was strengthened by attaining the first-ever General Board consolidated independent audit for the Church of the Nazarene, Inc. and an Evangelical Counsel for Financial Accountability membership in good standing for the denomination.

“Dr. Marilyn McCool has been a gift to the Church of the Nazarene and GMC,” said Joel Pearsall, chair of the Global Administration and Finance Committee for the General Board. “Her skills, gifting, insight, character, and demeanor have been exactly what was needed over the years.  We express our thanks for her servant leadership displayed to all of us.”  

David and Marilyn McCool, now blessed with three daughters and nine grandchildren, are originally from northern Michigan, where they pastored for 18 years in a Church of the Nazarene they planted in their hometown of Kalkaska in1984.

“A bank auditor introduced us to the Church of the Nazarene before we were married,” Marilyn said. “Through the love of a pastor and Olivet Nazarene University leaders, our lives changed forever.”

The McCools continue to commit their future to God, claiming Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”