KBC Mission Board Approves St. Louis Partnership
11/14/2011
UNION – At a meeting Nov. 14 at Union Baptist Church, members of the Kentucky Baptist Convention Mission Board approved a three-to-five-year ministry partnership with Baptists in the St. Louis area.
Board members also ratified Cooperative Program budget goals and the distribution percentages to KBC-related agencies and institutions for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
The St. Louis partnership will be formalized at the 174th Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention tomorrow at Florence Baptist Church at Mt. Zion. The Cooperative Program recommendations will require approval by messengers.
Missions Growth Committee Chairman Paul Badgett made the motion to enter into the St. Louis partnership. Scott Pittman, director of the KBC Partnership Missions Department, spoke in support.
"God is calling us to St. Louis," Pittman said. "I see tremendous possibilities. It’s so close to us, especially those in Western Kentucky."
St. Louis has been identified as a "Send City" by the North American Mission Board, in the hopes that Southern Baptists nationwide will undertake gospel-sharing projects there and in other cities that do not have a strong evangelical presence.
"The opportunities are numerous for church planting and multi-ethnic work," Pittman said. He noted that metro St. Louis is comprised of 15 counties with 2.7 million residents in urban, suburban and rural settings.
He added that some of the mission projects will focus on the urban community of East St. Louis, Ill.
The Cooperative Program is the unified giving program that funds missions and ministries across Kentucky, elsewhere in North America and around the world.
An operational budget goal of $23.5 million was approved with 43.5 percent of receipts for Southern Baptist causes such as the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board and Southern Baptists’ six seminaries; 56.46 percent will support missions in Kentucky, including efforts such as Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief, church planting, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Kentucky Changers and many others.
Board member David Roach of Shelbyville asked if the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s goal of a 50/50 split in CP dollars between Southern Baptist and KBC causes was dependent on increased giving to the Cooperative Program.
In the 2010-2011 fiscal year, Kentucky Baptists gave 2.3 percent less through the Cooperative Program than the previous fiscal year.
KBC President Floyd Paris noted that the Kentucky Great Commission Task Force recommendations, adopted at last year’s annual meeting, call for a 10-year period to accomplish that goal.
"We have voted to do that. We have a 10-year window in which to do that," Paris said. "We’re not changing direction."
Although the 2009-2010 CP budget goal was unmet, Paris noted that because of the changes made since passage of the Great Commission Task Force recommendations, Kentucky Baptists "already have given more to the International Mission Board … and to the North American Mission Board, too."
The additional funds to the IMB were enough to train and place two missionaries on the overseas mission field, he said.
"Even though we didn’t make budget, we as Kentuckians are still doing more to reach the world than we’ve ever done before," Paris said.
In reviewing the mission board’s report that will be presented during the annual meeting, he noted that the board’s increased use of conference calls instead of in-person meetings has saved significant dollars in mileage reimbursements to board members during the past year.
"We are leading by example," Paris said.
In other business, Don Mathis, chairman of the administrative committee, reported that KBC staff will receive a 1 percent bonus. Mathis noted that "two out of the last three years, including this year, there was no (merit or cost-of-living) raise for the KBC staff." He reported that funds were available for the bonuses.
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of nearly 2.400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative offices in Louisville, including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more. For more, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
by Dannah Prather, KBC Communications
