JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Board July 9 voted to recommend a $14.5 million Cooperative Program (CP) budget during its meeting at the Baptist Building.
If approved by a vote of messengers during the Oct. 28-30 MBC annual meeting in Kansas City, it is a slight decrease from the current budget to $14.645 million. Current cash flow is also positive, with CP receipts for this year projected to come in .74 percent ahead of last year. Reserves are also “strong.”
“Bottom line is assets are up, liabilities are down,” said Jerry Field, MBC support services team leader. “Income is above what the budget calls for, and expenses are below what the budget calls for.”
John Yeats, executive director of the MBC, attributed the decrease in the budget to MBC executive board staff cutting expenses while still meeting their mission to serve the churches that make up the convention.
The budget reflects the path to “50-50 by 2020,” a balance between state and national giving for CP causes in the next six years. The recommended 2014 split is 60 percent Missouri, 40 percent Southern Baptist Convention. The 50-50 split follows a pattern in the SBC since the 1950s, in which certain “shared” expenses such as GuideStone’s Annuity Program and The Pathway’s increased distribution budget totaling $725,000 are taken off the top before the split. The cooperative budget with the North American Mission Board remains unchanged for 2014. In order to meet the 50-50 split, the math involved dictates a smaller overall budget during the first two or three years. Yeats said that churches are the key to success for increased cooperative giving to reach the ends of the earth, the 50-50 goal will need to be pushed into the future.
“We really can move forward if our churches will catch the vision of CP,” he said. “While the 50-50 goal remains the state missions goal, we serve at the direction of the churches. If the 50-50 by 2020 doesn’t gain traction with the churches, we may need to recalibrate.”
With an aim to help churches catch that vision and build unity, Yeats called on the MBC staff to reach out to each of the 1,909 churches in the convention over 18 months.
“Every local church is going to get some kind of significant contact with our state missionaries,” he said, ”whatever it takes.”
In other business, board members:
- Voted to recommend that the 2017 annual meeting of the MBC be held Oct. 24-26 at the ShowMe Center in Cape Girardeau;
- Amended the Executive Board Bylaws to update the timeline of the Executive Director’s evaluation process;
- Presented the executive director’s current evaluation, concurring with the “vast majority” of executive board members, staff and directors of missions that rated him “effective” or “very effective.”
- Extended an invitation to allow certain outside entities to exhibit during the 2013 annual meeting in Kansas City: Bott Radio Network, Mid-America Theolocial Seminary, Strategos, Baptist Global Response, Million Men Emphasis, Crossway Publishers, Luther Rice Seminary (all non-MBC exhibitors must be approved by the Executive Board);
- Pre-authorized the executive director to sell the house that is part of the Baptist Student Center in Springfield, after collaborating with the local ministry leaders, with the proceeds to go toward the remaining facility’s upkeep.
- Authorized the special offering to be taken during the 2013 annual meeting to benefit Super Summer and MB125.
- Heard a “clean” audit report as presented by Williams Keepers, LLC.
