Make no mistake about it. The Cooperative Program (CP) is still the primary channel for funding missions and ministries in Alabama. The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) is budgeted to receive $11,172,660 this year to undergird all the work done across the state to strengthen and support churches. That money pays all the salaries and provides all the infrastructure for missions and ministries carried on by state missionaries almost every day somewhere in the state.
Unfortunately, CP support for work in Alabama is shrinking. Since 2007, CP receipts have declined about 14 percent — from a high of $44.95 million in 2007 to $38.77 million in 2016. So far this year undesignated receipts are running behind last year’s at this time by slightly more than 2.5 percent, according to reports.
State work has taken other hits. In 2007, 43 percent of all CP funds went to SBC causes. This year that percentage is 48 percent and the recommended budget for 2018 will move the division between funds used in Alabama and funds shared with SBC causes to 50–50. And this has happened during years of declining budgets.
No more room to maneuver
In addition, the North American Mission Board helped underwrite ministries in Alabama ranging from evangelism to Christian social ministries in 2007. Now most of those funds are gone and so are many of the ministers and ministries they helped fund.
State missionaries serve valiantly — often without raises and with reduced benefits. SBOM Executive Director Rick Lance has changed a number of positions from full-time to part-time or contract status. Other positions have been eliminated. The current staff is about half of what it was when Lance was elected in 1998. But after a while there is no more room to maneuver.
Like other mission boards, the SBOM has turned to a special offering. It is called the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering. Myers is the martyred Southern Baptist missionary Martha Myers, an Alabama physician murdered in Yemen in 2002. Mallory is Kathleen Mallory who led national Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) for 36 years (1912–1948) after first serving as leader of Alabama WMU. Theirs is a great missions legacy.
While this is the second year of the statewide Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering, there has been a state missions offering for years. However, prior to last year, the offering focused solely on WMU.
Last year the offering was refocused with a new name and new causes. Now the offering includes disaster relief, church planting, partnership missions and church revitalization in addition to WMU. WMU is a fostered entity of the state convention but each of the other four causes is assigned to SBOM.
The agreement between SBOM and WMU specifies that WMU will receive 55 percent of the offering goal since the state missions offering was originally theirs. The other causes will divide the other 45 percent on a percentage basis. This year disaster relief will receive 20 percent of the offering, church planting 10 percent, partnership missions 10 percent and church revitalization 5 percent.
Alabama Baptists know the necessity of having money on hand when tragedy strikes. Many times our state has been ravaged by tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. We have seen the immediate response of Alabama Baptist-trained volunteers and the resources made available through various associations and the state convention. Kitchen units, shower units, laundry units, child care units, chainsaw crews, mud out crews, chaplains and more can quickly respond because of the training and resources provided by the state disaster relief program.
Alabama Baptists don’t have to “get ready” when a disaster strikes. Alabama Baptists are ready. What a blessing that is.
Changing population patterns
Even though our state is highly “churched,” the churches are not always where the people are. Changing population patterns necessitate new church plants. So does the growing number of people from other nations who call Alabama home.
In some instances churches decline even though they are surrounded by people. Alabama Baptists’ innovative program of providing coaches and mentors to work with leadership of such churches is a great resource. Coaches work with pastor and lay leaders to see what can be done to equip the church to be a congregation attempting to enlist its community for the cause of Christ. But even that takes money to train the coaches and put coach and church together.
Helping churches commit to ministry “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth” is the goal of the Acts 1:8 program — a partnership ministry strategy promoted by Alabama Baptists. Not only do state missionaries promote this biblical teaching in the churches, they help churches become aware of ministry opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. Volunteers are trained and other services offered.
A special point about the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering is that all of the funds are used in Alabama for equipping Alabama Baptist saints for missions and ministry. When these funds are combined with the salary and infrastructure support of CP, Baptists have a winning combination.
Evidently many Alabama Baptists share that conclusion. Last year, the first year of the statewide missions offering, the goal was $750,000. Baptists gave $956,666.09. That is 127 percent of the goal.
This year the goal adopted by state convention messengers is $1 million. However, state leaders hope for a higher offering to help underwrite the needed ministries. They announced a hallelujah goal of $1.2 million. Reaching that goal would be a stretch but it can be done.
Special offerings are just that. They are offerings above and beyond one’s regular gifts to the church, part of which goes to missions and ministries through CP as churches invest in all Baptists do together in Alabama, the nation and around the world.
Special offerings allow those concerned about international missions to make a special investment in that cause through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Those concerned about the underserved areas of the U.S. can give a special offering to the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions.
Now those concerned about the lost in Alabama, about missions and ministry in our own state, can make a special offering through the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering.
The Week of Prayer for this emphasis is Sept. 10–17. Be a part of your church’s efforts to support work in Alabama. Study the material prepared by Alabama WMU. Pray for the state missions causes. Then give as the Lord lays on your heart because this special offering will be a growing part of support missions and ministries in our state.
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