With the upcoming annual meeting of Alabama Baptists in November will come a report and recommendations “that will affect the future of Alabama Baptists for a time yet to come,” Jim Cooley, chairman of the State Board of Missions (SBOM), said during a special-called meeting of the SBOM in Montgomery on Oct. 12.
The report and recommendations are from the state convention’s Great Commission Ministries FutureFocus Task Force, which was originally called the Great Commission Study Committee.
Cooley described the proposal as “a template for future ministry, for [the] vitality of Alabama Baptists and for continued ministry partnership.”
The recommendations will not affect the 2013 budget, SBOM officials noted. They deal with 2014 and beyond.
The Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC) has been studying ministry funding for two years — similar to what many state conventions did and have done following the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) adoption of the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) plan in 2010.
GCR challenged individuals, churches, associations, state conventions and national entities to evaluate themselves, their focus and their funding priorities to ensure a Great Commission-centered existence. Funding related to state conventions meant a push toward a 50–50 split between state conventions and the national body in Cooperative Program (CP) dollars.
In November of that year, then-ABSC President Jimmy Jackson appointed the FutureFocus Task Force, which was the already-
existing SBOM executive committee, to study the issue for at least two years.
“As we begin a new decade — The Decade to Make a Difference (as Alabama Baptists are calling 2011–2020) — we want to have thoughtful and deliberate planning, to help Alabama Baptists focus our resources and conduct Great Commission ministries through the coming decade,” Jackson said while announcing the new task force to the convention in November 2010.
Noting the economic pressure a new committee would put on the budget, Jackson said he decided to appoint the executive committee as the committee to save time and CP dollars.
Plus “[i]t is made up of ministers and laymen from every district of Alabama who have a close proximity to grass-roots Alabama Baptists.”
During the 2011 annual meeting Jackson reported that the group continued to evaluate the question: “Is there a way we can do better in carrying out Great Commission Ministries?” He also noted the task force had heard from four SBC leaders during its 2011 meetings.
On Jan. 20, 2011, the group met with Bob White, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Convention and a member of the SBC GCR Task Force (GCRTF) in 2009–10. “We talked about the history of the SBC and its relationship to the CP and how we minister,” Jackson said.
On March 17, 2011, Frank Page, CEO of the SBC Executive Committee and a member of the GCRTF, discussed the historic working relationship of the SBC and state conventions in relationship to the CP. “We looked at what we are doing and what is being done throughout the SBC,” Jackson noted.
On May 12, 2011, Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), shared “what is going to be taking place in the years to come.”
On Aug. 11, 2011, Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church, Springdale, Ark., and chairman of the GCRTF, shared the reasons behind the GCRTF recommendations and “what we can do to better serve the Lord.”
“As we did our evaluations (in 2011) we found out that Alabama is No. 1 in CP giving across the entire SBC and has been for quite some time,” Jackson said. Also “Alabama is a perennial leader in SBC missions giving through Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong and World Hunger.”
The GCRTF’s main concerns were baptism numbers and missions money, Jackson said. “What we are trying to do is evaluate where we fit into that as Alabama Baptists raise our level and reach more people with the gospel.”
Also factoring into Alabama’s FutureFocus Task Force studies was the elimination of a large percentage, if not all, of NAMB’s funding for associational missions and other work in the state.
Bobby DuBois, associate executive director of the SBOM, announced May 24 a commitment by the SBOM to assume responsibility for the funding being eliminated by NAMB over the next five years. This funding currently impacts 45 missions positions across the state.
“Those 45 missions positions will continue regardless of what NAMB does,” he explained. “We are working to not allow any of the positions to go unfunded. Bottom line: We are going to do missions in Alabama.”
The FutureFocus Task Force made a similar conclusion. The members, working in four subgroups this past year to develop the individual elements of the proposal, believe they have found a way to continue doing ministry in Alabama while also fostering a positive partnership with the SBC.
The proposal outlines a roadmap — through church planting, church revitalization, global missions, disaster relief and CP and stewardship development — to make this happen.
“We believe this is a win-win between Alabama and the SBC,” said Tim Cox, chairman of the CP and stewardship development subgroup of the task force. “It is a fair and balanced approach today and for the days ahead.
“We are deeply committed to be SBC partners and equally committed to Alabama Baptists,” he said. “Only one state convention carries the assignment for reaching the state (of Alabama) for Christ and that is the Alabama Baptist State Convention.”
After hearing from the task force, the SBOM voted to affirm the report and recommendations. The presentation will formally be made to state convention messengers during the Tuesday afternoon session of the annual meeting Nov. 13 at Vaughn Forest Baptist Church, Montgomery, but Alabama Baptists will have a chance to study the proposal ahead of time. A detailed description of the three-part template will be in the next issue (Nov. 1) of The Alabama Baptist.
To read more on the history of the task force, go to www.thealabamabaptist.org and type in “Great Commission Task Force” in the search field with quotation marks around the phrase.
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