Veazey's first conference sermon as President called upon members of the church to be active disciples and to share the fullness of the peace of Christ. He encouraged members to embrace their differences and to call each other, no matter how different in theological and moral views and understandings, sisters and brothers in Christ. Veazey's background as a career missionary and as a field minister for the church is unique when compared to that of previous presidents of the denomination. One of Veazey's first challenges was the need to assess the sustainability of deficit budgets adopted at previous World Conferences. On June 14, 2006, the church announced a new staff organizational structure designed to reduce costs and better align the World Church staff with the priorities and mission of the church. Approximately one-fourth of the headquarters and field staff positions were eliminated.