MBC Board recommends $17 million budget for ’06
By Allen Palmeri
Staff Writer
July 26, 2005
HANNIBAL – The Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Board voted unanimously July 12 to approve a proposed $17.05 million budget for 2006, with one percent set aside for Cooperative Program (CP) Missions education and promotion.
Board members meeting in the Parker Theatre of the Roland Fine Arts Center at Hannibal-LaGrange College voted to recommend that the remaining $16,879,500, or 35.75 percent, be designated for Southern Baptist Convention causes and 64.25 percent for MBC work. Messengers to the MBC’s annual meeting, Oct. 24-26 at Second Baptist Church, Springfield, will vote on whether to approve or amend the budget.
MBC Executive Director David Clippard noted that for the second consecutive year, the MBC will be helping to finance the fulfillment of Acts 1:8 through $170,500 set aside to promote the CP. (This year’s budget includes $167,000 for that purpose.) Strategically, the MBC will keep looking for ways to increase funding for its three priority areas of evangelism, church planting and personal missions involvement, he said.
Some recent examples of how this is happening include turning an associate executive director position into an evangelism position as well as by turning a leadership development position into a church planting missionary position.
“By making these moves, the MBC is trying to strategically put more CP mission dollars where our heart is,” Clippard said.
On July 11, an Executive Board Administrative Committee discussion of these priorities focused on the Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering (MMO). The discussion centered on shifting $70,000 out of collegiate summer missions next year toward church planting and evangelism efforts. Clippard said the ultimate goal is to greatly expand the number of summer missionaries by encouraging them to raise their own support in the same way that students do when participating in missions outside the borders of Missouri. This would take the lid off the number of students that can be deployed. This year, with all the available funding, a maximum number of 68 students were deployed and some of the requests for summer missionaries went unmet.
In a June 29 meeting that Clippard and MBC Associate Executive Director Roy Spannagel had with officers of the Directors of Missions Fellowship, the DOMs stated that this new strategy may create a hardship on some of the work of the smaller associations. As the MMO goals and line items were already set by the Executive Board April 12, Clippard opened up a discussion of the MMO for an alternative plan with the Executive Board. On July 12, Executive Board members approved an alternative plan that will keep Student Summer Missions for 2006 at the same level as this year so that no funding will be lost.
“Our desire is to help, not hinder, any of our associations’ evangelistic work,” Clippard said. “We will continue the funding at the same level for 2006 for collegiate summer missions than we did for 2005, but we can make no promises for (2007). Our objective has to be to expand the number of summer missionaries we deploy exponentially, not incrementally.”
Jerry Williams, director of missions, Barry County Baptist Association, and second vice president, MBC, indicated he had received calls from some of his fellow DOMs who objected to the proposed shift. Executive Board member Jerry Sheridan asked Clippard to communicate to the DOMs how MMO reserve funds will be used to fully fund the missionaries.
“I’ll get a letter to them and let them know that we will continue the collegiate ministry funding next year at the same level as this year,” Clippard said.
The DOMs will be invited to help come up with a long-term solution for expanding the Student Summer Missions ministry Oct. 11-13 at the DOM Continuing Education Conference at the Cross Pointe Retreat Center, Lake of the Ozarks, Clippard said.
In other business, the filling of several open positions on the MBC staff remains a concern. High on the list is filling two associate executive director positions. President Mitchell Jackson appointed a four-person committee to study all of the MBC’s personnel policies, including wages and benefits. Committee members include: Sheridan, layman, First Baptist Church, Raytown, who will serve in an ex officio capacity and members of the Personnel Work Group that includes Ed Hamilton, layman, First Baptist Church, Ozark; Wayne Malone, pastor, First Baptist, Weston; Don Denney, layman, Rock Hill Baptist Church, St. Louis; and Paul Callahan, pastor, First Baptist, Marshall.
Besides the two associate executive director positions, the MBC is looking for: two church planting specialists; a collegiate ministry director; a Baptist Student Union director in Rolla; and a pastoral ministries leadership specialist.
Spannagel, associate executive director, Church Outreach Team, is now serving as interim associate director of the Church & Family Equipping Team.
A more detailed report on salaries will be available for messengers to read in the Book of Reports during the October annual meeting.
Also, board members:
- Approved a maximum of 3 percent pay raises for MBC staff;
- Recommended that messengers to the 2005 annual meeting set dates of Oct. 28-29, 2009, for the annual meeting of the MBC at First Baptist Church, Raytown;
- Filled the unexpired term of F. Dale Eiceman on the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home Board of Trustees with Chuck Logue, layman, First Baptist Church, Archie. Also, the unexpired term of James Page will be filled by Bev Corum of First Baptist Church, Kearney.