Over half states boost CP sending to SBC causes

Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. WRAP-UP: Over half states boost CP sending to SBC causes by Tammi Reed Ledbetter December 21, 2016

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Ohio Baptists approved the largest increase in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts sent beyond the state next year, moving from the current 59.75/40.25 ratio to a 50/50 split. "Supporting missions from Ohio to the ends of the earth is the heartbeat of Ohio Southern Baptists," said Ohio Executive Director Jack Kwok in praising the decision.

The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO) joins four other conventions that forward half or more to the Southern Baptist Convention, without a "shared ministry" calculation, including the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (55/45), Florida (51/49), Iowa (50/50) and Nevada (50/50).

In addition to the SCBO, conventions where increases of more than 1 percent were reported include Arizona, Colorado, the Dakotas, Kansas-Nebraska, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Missouri, New Mexico and Tennessee.

State conventions in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland/Delaware, Michigan, Mississippi, New England, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania/South Jersey and Utah/Idaho voted to increase the SBC portion in amounts ranging from .10 to 1 percent. Louisiana messengers overwhelmingly defeated a motion from a messenger seeking a 2018 move toward a 50/50 CP split. Executive Director David Hankins spoke to the impact on in-state ministries if $2.5 million were cut from the Louisiana Baptist Convention budget and said the state convention's Advance Plan will work to move toward a 50/50 split as in the past when income grows.

Three state conventions -- the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention (DCBC) -- let churches customize what they label Texas Cooperative Program (BGCT), Cooperative Missions Giving (BGAV) or Standard Giving, Undesignated (DCBC). BGCT's preferred giving plan retains 79 percent of undesignated receipts from affiliated churches for in-state use and 21 percent for one of three worldwide partners -- the Southern Baptist Convention, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) or BGCT Worldwide. Churches may customize further by specifying the portions for in-state and out-of-state allocations. BGAV has preset giving tracks that a church can customize to fund causes of the SBC and/or CBF. The BGAV giving plan World Mission 1 allocates 34 percent of gifts given through this plan to SBC worldwide missions and ministries. Two of the four undesignated giving plans of the DCBC provide churches the opportunity to select funding for SBC causes at either 35 percent or 17.5 percent. Southern Baptists in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also forward a percentage of their Cooperative Program receipts to the SBC for the SBC allocation budget.

The actual dollar amount of a state convention's allocation fluctuates annually depending on how well cooperating churches in the state are able to fund their respective budgets.

Each state convention elected officers to leadership for 2016. Those serving as president are:ALABAMA -- John Thweatt, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pell City;ALASKA -- Bryan Myers, pastor of Faith Baptist Church, Fairbanks;ARIZONA -- Jackie Allen, lead pastor of Palm Vista Baptist Church, Surprise;ARKANSAS -- Sam Roberts, pastor of First Baptist Church, Stuttgart;CALIFORNIA -- A.B. Vines, pastor of New Seasons Church, Spring Valley;COLORADO -- Mike Routt, pastor of Circle Drive Baptist Church, Colorado Springs;DAKOTAS -- Steve Ford, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Vermillion, S.D.;DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- Ward Kay, member of Vienna Baptist Church, Vienna, Va.;FLORIDA -- Stephen Rummage, pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church, Brandon;GEORGIA -- Thomas Hammond, pastor of First Baptist Church, Alpharetta;HAWAII/PACIFIC -- John Endriss, pastor of Engage Church, Hilo, Hawaii;ILLINOIS -- Kevin Carrothers, pastor of Rochester First Baptist Church, Rochester;INDIANA -- Bruce Reynolds, pastor of Old Town Baptist church, Muncie; IOWA -- Robert Knight, pastor of New Birth Baptist Church, AmesKANSAS/NEBRASKA -- Joe Stiles, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Lawrence, Kan.;KENTUCKY -- Bill Langley, pastor of Severns Valley Baptist Church, Elizabethtown;LOUISIANA -- Gevan Spinney, pastor of First Baptist Church, Haughton;MARYLAND/DELAWARE -- Michael Trammell, senior pastor of Mt. Airy Baptist Church, Mt. Airy, Md.;MICHIGAN -- Jerome Taylor, pastor of Eastgate Baptist Church, Burton;MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN -- Jackie Hill, pastor of Roseville Baptist Church, Roseville, Minn.;MISSISSIPPI -- Doug Broome, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Natchez.MISSOURI -- Ken Parker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Kearney;MONTANA -- Darren Hales, pastor of Big Sky Fellowship, Helena;NEVADA -- Ted Angle, member of Fellowship Community Church, Reno;NEW ENGLAND -- Gary Rowe, member of Island Pond Baptist Church, Hampstead, N.H.;NEW MEXICO -- John Hinze, pastor of First Baptist Church, Tucumcari;NEW YORK -- Paul Flores, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Nazareth, West New York, N.J.;NORTH CAROLINA -- Cameron McGill, pastor of Dublin First Baptist Church, Dublin;NORTHWEST -- Steve Bryant, member of Highland Baptist Church, Redmond, Ore.;OHIO -- David Starry, pastor of First Baptist Church, Vandalia;OKLAHOMA -- Joe Ligon, pastor of First Baptist Church, Marlow;PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY -- Kevin Roberts, pastor of Community Baptist Church at Charleroi, Charleroi, Penn.;SOUTH CAROLINA -- Keith Shorter, pastor of Mt. Airy Baptist Church, Easley;TENNESSEE -- Steve Freeman, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Springfield;TEXAS (BGCT) -- Danny Reeves, pastor of First Baptist Church, Corsicana;TEXAS (SBTC) -- Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Baptist Church, Humble;UTAH-IDAHO -- David Kite, pastor of four cowboy churches in Idaho;VIRGINIA (BGAV) – Stuart Crow, member of First Baptist Church, Waynesboro;VIRGINIA (SBCV) -- Bryan Smith, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Roanoke;WEST VIRGINIA -- Todd Hill, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Parkersburg, W.Va., and WYOMING -- David Grace, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Laramie.