Alabama Baptists will work under the same budget in 2004 as they did in 2003.
Messengers to this year’s Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting approved the same Cooperative Program (CP) base budget of $40,427,480. The budget also contains goals for a special offering totaling $16,675,000.
Craig Carlisle, chairman of the State Board of Missions (SBOM) and pastor of Central Park Baptist Church, Decatur, said, “The budget we present to you today is not something to be taken lightly; it’s something we have prayed about all year.”
The SBOM presented the same budget as last year’s because the gifts from Alabama Baptists for 2003 are projected to be below expectations, according to SBOM Executive Director Rick Lance.
Speaking before Carlisle’s presentation, Lance said that since 1991 Alabama Baptists have increased their CP giving by 4 percent each year. But after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the increase dropped to 1.7 percent. Lance said that Alabama Baptists will need to give a 3 percent increase over the 2002 receipts to make the 2003 base CP budget.
Strategic budget
Carlisle said he was “proud to present (messengers) a budget that does not exceed projected receipts.”
Reviewing the budget recommendation, Carlisle said it contained a CP challenge budget of $41,427,480.
Increases occurred in the 2004 CP state causes budget and the special offering goals. Both increased by $100,000 to bring the state causes budget to $500,000 and the special offering goals to $16,675,000.
According to the Book of Reports, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries Offering (ABCH) both exceeded their goals for last year, so the goals for each were raised an additional $50,000. This brought the goal for the Annie Armstrong Offering to $4.8 million and ABCH to $1.9 million.
The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal remains at $9 million; World Hunger Relief, $875,000; and Disaster Relief, $100,000.
Carlisle said any gifts beyond the CP challenge budget will be distributed based on existing formulas and percentages.
Other recommendations that were accepted without any discussion were the 2002 auditor’s report for the SBOM and the board’s recommendation for the use of property connected with the Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) site at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Andy Hepburn, vice chairman of the SBOM, said the current BCM site was on property needed by UAB. He said negotiations began a year ago between the school and the SBOM as to the possible sale of the property.
The recommendation brought before the messengers was to exchange the existing BCM building and property with UAB for property of the same size located 1.5 blocks south of the current location. UAB would also pay SBOM $349,000 for the transfer of title and those proceeds will be applied to the construction of a new BCM building on the new site.
Hepburn said, “The dialogue, communication and negotiations were so positive with UAB. I believe we worked out a tremendous deal.”
He said the recommendation also limited the cost of construction to $475,000, which includes the transfer price, and any debt incurred by SBOM would be applied to the line of credit currently in place at the Aliant Bank in Montgomery.
Hepburn said the SBOM would seek the assistance of volunteer construction teams and bids will be taken in December 2003 with construction to begin Spring 2004. The BCM will move in August 2004.
After the vote on the UAB recommendation, Reggie Quimby, director of global partnerships for Alabama Baptists, recognized Alabama Baptists’ missions partnerships formed through Impact Northeast and the Venezuelan partnership.
David Waltz, executive director of the Pennsylvania/South Jersey state convention, brought greetings from Pennsylvania and New Jersey Baptists.
“Thank you for your incredible support and encouragement over the past year,” Waltz said. “Almost every association in Pennsylvania/ New Jersey has a partnership (with an Alabama church or association).”
He also encouraged Alabama Baptists to keep coming to the area to serve. He said that in Pennsylvania/South Jersey 10,000 more Southern Baptist churches were needed to match Alabama’s ratio of churches to people.
On behalf of the Venezuelan partnership, Wilfredo Velasquez, president of the National Baptist Convention of Venezuela, spoke to the assembly, with Quimby translating. Velasquez compared the partnership to the passage in John 12 where Philip and Andrew bring the Greeks who were seeking Jesus to the Christ. “We want Alabama and Venezuela to unite to bring many people to the Lord Jesus Christ,” Velasquez said.
In other business the fifth annual Troy L. Morrison Leadership/Church Growth awards were given to two Alabama pastors nominated by their peers.
Church growth awards
Edwin Jenkins, director of leadership/church growth for the SBOM, presided over the ceremony. He said recipients were judged based on their spiritual growth, missions involvement, ministry advancement and numerical growth. He added that the award categories were bivocational work, new work and established work.
This year’s recipients were Joe Carwile pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Hazel Green, and Barry Cosper, pastor of Canaan Baptist Church, Bessemer.
After pastors were presented with plaques and stipends to continue their growth as leaders, Morrison said, “I’m very grateful that you have given this honor to both these men.”
At the Monday State Board of Missions meeting, the board voted to appoint a new committee at the request of Alabama Baptist State Convention President Joe Godfrey.
The committee, Church Employee Medical Insurance Study Committee, will study options for church employee medical insurance and report back within the year.
Henry Cox of Bay Minette will chair the committee. Also serving on the committee are Mike McLemore of Birmingham, Terry Wilson of Montgomery, Craig Carlisle of Decatur, Charles Olive of Dothan and Roger Willmore of Boaz. Lance and Godfrey will serve as ex-officio members.
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