Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) adopted a $288.9 million budget for 2007, appointed 67 new missionaries and heard a report of key results from missions work worldwide during their Oct. 30–Nov. 1 meeting in St. Louis.
The 2007 missions budget projects an increase of $6.4 million, or about 2.2 percent, over this year’s total.
It anticipates receipts of more than $105 million from Southern Baptist missions giving through the Cooperative Program.
More than half of the total budget will rely on giving to this year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions, which has a goal of $150 million.
The entire Lottie Moon goal amount has been budgeted, with $141.2 million earmarked for missions operating expenses and the remaining $8.8 million for capital needs overseas.
Remaining budget receipts are anticipated from investments, hunger and relief giving (which is spent exclusively for those ministries) and other income.
The majority of next year’s projected overseas budget, more than $206 million, will go to support more than 5,100 missionaries worldwide. The missionaries will receive a small salary increase in 2007.
Missionary medical costs continue to rise, and the dollar remains generally weak against many foreign currencies.
Projected U.S. expenditures, at nearly $44 million, will total about 15.2 percent of the 2007 budget.
They will include salary increases for IMB home office staff members.
During their business sessions, trustees got a global update on the true magnitude of the unfinished missions task.
They received the IMB’s latest Annual Statistical Report, compiled from statistics reported by more than 2,000 entities — including missions teams assigned to reach ethnic people groups, cities and other population segments. The report covers the 2005 calendar year.
The board’s 5,100-plus missionaries and their international Baptist partners baptized more than 475,000 new believers last year, started nearly 23,500 churches and engaged 104 people groups for the first time.
They also planted churches among 19 people groups where no Baptist churches previously existed — including 13 with no evangelical churches of any kind.
“For 13 of these people groups, for the first time in their history, there is a church representing our Lord and Savior to an unreached people that have never heard the gospel, don’t have a Bible in their language and have never known what church looks like,” said Gordon Fort, IMB vice president for overseas operations.
In other business, trustees:
- responded to a motion referred by the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting last summer to both the IMB and North American Mission Board (NAMB), requesting the appointment of a study committee to examine ways both boards “may work in greater partnership and harmony.”
IMB trustees agreed with a recent response from NAMB trustees that a study committee is not needed.
They pointed out that the Inter-Missions Council, which consists of primary leadership of both IMB and NAMB, already meets regularly to determine and carry out ways of working in partnership and harmony in effective and efficient ways.
- appointed 67 new missionaries. The missionary appointment service, which drew a crowd of about 2,000, was part of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s annual meeting and the IMB trustee meeting held in St. Louis.
Two Alabamians were among the appointed missionaries during the Oct. 31 service at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. (BP)
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