Alabama Baptists are pacesetters in giving, Lance says

Football fans are ready to cheer and celebrate the tackles, touchdowns and even first downs as the South’s favorite fall event gets underway.

Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) and football enthusiast himself, has been cheering for his other favorite team — the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC) family — since he was a teenager. He’s been leading SBOM for almost 20 years and shared a few items of celebration for Alabama Baptists.

• Alabama has been and remains a pacesetter among state conventions in dollars given through the Cooperative Program (CP). Alabama is neither the largest nor wealthiest state numerically or economically but no one can question the state convention’s heartbeat for missions support in giving through CP, he said.
• During the 2015 calendar year, Alabama Baptists will send approximately $31 million to the two Southern Baptist mission boards — more than $20 million to IMB and more than $10 million to NAMB. This does not include gifts sent directly from churches to the mission boards.
• ABSC is frequently noted for its loyalty as a partner with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). That passion has not changed and will not, Lance said, noting that Alabama Baptists partner with as many as possible in SBC life to support Great Commission ministries.
• Since 2012, Alabama Baptists have adopted budgets that increase the SBC allocation by an average of 1 percent annually. That trend will hopefully continue until parity with SBC is reached. All ABSC entities/ministries have sacrificed to make that record possible.
• SBOM staff has decreased in size from 121 to the current 73 full-time employees — approximately 42 percent. By July 1, 2016, it is anticipated that the number will be 67 or a decrease of 45.5 percent.
• SBOM staff has been granted two 2 percent salary increases since 2010 while the SBC percentage has increased each year. No salary increase is anticipated for 2016. 

Trustees of SBOM unanimously voted Aug. 14 to recommend a 2016 CP budget of $40 million with 53 percent funding state convention ministries and 47 percent going to SBC ministries.

The 2016 budget recommendation — which also was unanimously affirmed by SBOM’s executive committee and budget advisory subcommittee — includes:

53 percent — $21,208,238 for state convention ministries: SBOM ministries ($11,172,660) and Alabama entity ministries ($10,035,578).

47 percent — $18,791,762, for SBC ministries: SBC Executive Committee ($17,992,424), SBC GuideStone ($749,338) and SBC CP Advance ($50,000).

The proposed budget will be voted on by state convention messengers at the ABSC annual meeting in November.

(SBOM, TAB)