Alabama Baptists passed a record budget, adjusted the funds going to Alabama’s three Baptist colleges and heard an update on the State Board of Missions’ (SBOM) property sale during the state convention annual meeting in Montgomery Nov. 18.
Messengers approved a $46 million Cooperative Program (CP) base budget for 2009 and a CP state causes budget of $500,000.
They also voted unanimously to cap Samford University’s allocation from the state convention at $5.3 million, redistributing the surplus funds to the allocations of Judson College and the University of Mobile using an adjusted formula.
Also approved were the special offering goals for 2009:
• Lottie Moon Christmas Offering — $11 million
• Annie Armstrong Easter Offering — $6 million
• Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries Offering — $2.55 million
• World Hunger Offering — $875,000
• Disaster Relief Offering — $100,000
Messengers also heard an update on the SBOM’s property situation from Rusty Sowell, chairman of the properties subcommittee and pastor of Providence Baptist Church, Opelika.
Sowell reported that the SBOM’s Taylor Road property is under contract with a developer who has “contributed a substantial amount of money to pursue this property.”
Messengers to last year’s annual meeting approved the sale with the intention of using the money to retire the debt on the state board offices and, if possible, to begin construction on new facilities in future years.
But no further steps will be taken in the relocation process until the Taylor Road sale is final, Sowell said. At the moment, SBOM leaders and the developer are working to resolve issues regarding objections from homeowners living adjacent to the land, according to reports in the Montgomery Advertiser.
As part of its report, the SBOM also surveyed messengers for opinions about possibly switching the annual meeting site to a two-city rotation — Birmingham and Montgomery — rather than the traditional four-city rotation — Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Mobile.
The executive committee will take the opinions into consideration and present a recommendation at next year’s annual meeting if it feels one is warranted, said Bobby DuBois, SBOM associate executive director.
“This will not affect next year’s meeting site,” DuBois said. Next year’s meeting is slated for Huntsville.
Ron Madison, pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Huntsville, asked from a microphone on the floor if the convention could, in addition to the two-city rotation, consider the possibility of meeting only in Montgomery.
Also during the report, Jim Swedenburg, director of the SBOM office of Cooperative Program and stewardship development, honored 10 churches for outstanding CP giving.
The first five, honored for the top per capita CP giving in the state, were:
• Evergreen Baptist Church, Clayton, led by Pastor Earl Ledbetter — $350.01 per resident member
• Salem Baptist Church, Piedmont, led by Pastor Lewis Conaway — $308.87 per resident member
• Paint Rock Baptist Church led by Pastor Charles King — $299.09 per resident member
• Southside Baptist Church, Huntsville, led by Interim Pastor Cecil Sewell — $274.08 per resident member
• First Baptist Church, Monroeville, led by Interim Pastor Harrell Cushing — $274.08 per resident member
The five churches honored for total CP gifts were:
• Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, led by Pastor Danny Wood — $686,070
• First Baptist Church, Montgomery, led by Pastor Jay Wolf — $562,548.29
• First Baptist Church, Trussville, led by Pastor Buddy Champion — $545,595.57
• Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, led by Pastor Gary Fenton — $527,644.73
• Hunter Street Baptist Church, Hoover, led by Pastor Buddy Gray — $475,000
In other business:
• Three Alabama Baptist pastors received Troy L. Morrison Leadership/Church Health awards, presented by Teman Knight, director of the SBOM office of leadership and church health.
Todd Burr, pastor of Dogwood Grove Baptist Church, Montevallo, received the award for established work.
Bobby Morton, pastor of Shalom Baptist Church, Citronelle, received the award for bivocational work.
Randy Norris, pastor of The Church at Ross Station, Bessemer Baptist Association, received the award for new work.
• The auditor’s report on the State Board of Missions was approved.
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