For the second consecutive year, Cooperative Program (CP) giving has fallen short of Alabama Baptists’ base goal. Now the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) is trying to make every dollar count while continuing to help churches spread the gospel throughout the state.
In 2010, overall giving totaled $41,727,510 — more than $4.2 million below the $46 million goal, almost $1.3 million less than the 2011 base budget and nearly $2 million under 2009 giving.
Bobby DuBois, the SBOM’s associate executive director, said the decreased giving “reflects the downward trend in our churches.”
“A large number of our churches are currently experiencing financial challenges due to a sluggish economy,” he said. “Charitable giving tends to lag the rest of the economy. It took a year or so for the recessed economy to impact church giving, and it will likely take a year or more for churches to recover once the economy does rebound.”
Yet Alabama Baptists surpassed the goals of designated giving to state causes and Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) causes with $305,102 to the state and $504,564 to the SBC. Designated giving exceeded projections by $5,102 for the state and $104,564 for the SBC.
“In spite of the economic downturn, Alabama Baptists are still on mission with the Great Commission,” DuBois said. “[The Alabama Baptist State Convention] remains committed as an SBC ministry partner and will be a pacesetter in missions giving so that the gospel can be taken from our Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.”
Like the CP receipts, some special offerings came up short.
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering donations totaled $10,964,779, which was $535,220 short of the goal. Receipts for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering were $594,460 less than its $6 million goal, and the World Hunger offering was $749,201 — $125,798 short.
But Alabama Baptists did meet and exceed the goals in two areas. They gave $1,038,988 to the Disaster Relief Offering — $938,988 over its goal — and $2,621,397 to the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries, exceeding its $2,555,000 goal.
While $17,734,191.88 of Alabama’s CP dollars went to the SBC, total Alabama giving to the SBC was $35,542,222.97.
DuBois said the SBOM lives and dies with the CP but eliminating ministries is the “last thing” it wants to do to deal with decreased receipts. “We will ask staff members to assume greater workloads, and we will adjust our expenses before we start cutting ministries,” he said. “We are asking office directors to carefully review their office budgets to see if there are adjustments they can make in the way they do ministry. We will continue to streamline what we do and how we do in an effort to be good stewards of resources and carry out our Great Commission assignments.”
A few ways the SBOM has adjusted to the deficit are employing fewer people, eliminating the Trustee Leadership Conference and staff Christmas event, changing health insurance carriers, freezing staff salaries for the past three years and reducing postage expenses by using electronic communications more effectively.
“Churches, associations, Alabama Baptist entities and Southern Baptist Convention entities are all facing the same challenges we are,” DuBois noted. “Giving is down across the board, and each member of the Baptist family is having to make hard decisions about present and future ministry. … We are thankful for every mission dollar sent by our churches through the SBOM.”
Even though the economy will likely continue its slow recovery in 2011, DuBois remains optimistic that Alabama Baptists will remain strong in their financial support of the local church, association, state convention and SBC to the glory of God.
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