Crossover Showed Southern Baptists at Their Best

Robert Reeves — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:00:39 +0000

A Crossover volunteer prays with a homeless man.

While most of the focus of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Louisville this past June was on the formation of the Great Commission Task Force, I have to say that for me the best part was what took place before messengers ever formally assembled for business. I had the opportunity to be a part of Crossover Louisville ’09 and really felt I was seeing Southern Baptists at our very best as we worked together to meet needs and share our faith.

What really struck me was how all the different pieces of the Baptist puzzle were fitting together in a true Great Commission effort. Planning and preparation for Crossover was handled jointly by the local Long Run Baptist Association, the state convention, the Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union and the North American Mission Board. Funding came through all of those entities via the Cooperative Program, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions and the Eliza Broadus Offering for Kentucky state missions. The volunteers (the boots on the ground so to speak) came from the local churches, churches across the Southern Baptist Convention, our seminaries and other denominational entities. It was a wonderful sight to see us all — regardless of whatever logo may have appeared on our shirts — literally working together for His glory.

And God blessed the effort as Baptists left behind a grateful city and more than a thousand new believers who are now being discipled by local churches. It is my prayer that we can think of the cooperative experience of Crossover as a reminder of how Baptists work together every day through the Cooperative Program to share Christ across the world. No, we’re not daily all gathered together in one city literally working side by side as the volunteers were in Crossover. It’s a good picture though of how we are working together across the planet as Southern Baptists work in our local communities and through our associations, state conventions and national entities to share Christ with a lost world.

Is it a perfect system that has no need for improvement? No. But I do believe it remains an incredibly effective means of bringing synergy to what we do as individual Christians and churches to fulfill the Great Commission.

Check out this video to learn more about Crossover Louisville ’09.

New KBC Missions Budget Brochures Available

Robert Reeves — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:00:06 +0000

In the previous posts titled, “Kentucky CP Giving — Part of the Story,” “Kentucky CP Giving — More of the Story,” and “Kentucky CP Giving…the Rest of the Story,” I shared how Cooperative Program dollars are divided in Kentucky and also explored what the total church giving picture looks like in terms of the division between state and Southern Baptist Convention causes. All of the numbers I shared in those posts are now available in the form of a new brochure for Kentucky Baptist churches.

The brochures (as well as other free Cooperative Program material) is available in packages of 50 for the asking at the CP materials section of the KBC Web site. The brochures are a great church bulletin insert. I’m happy to send anyone else a copy of the brochure (in a KBC church or not) as well.

Below are the pie charts included in the brochure. This first one shows the upcoming Cooperative Program budget goals for Kentucky. Click here to see more detail on the numbers included in the chart.

The chart below shows the split for all gifts from Kentucky Baptist churches that came through the KBC during the 2007-08 fiscal year. (The audited numbers for the 2008-09 year are not yet available since the current fiscal year does not end until Aug. 31.) Click here to see more detail on the numbers in this chart.

Kentucky CP Giving — More of the Story

Robert Reeves — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:14:46 +0000

In the last post about Kentucky’s Cooperative Program allocations, I talked about the process the Kentucky Baptist Mission Board and annual meeting messengers use in dividing the Cooperative Program pie three ways to fund missions endeavors within the state and around the world. In this post, I’ll give you the details of the budget goals for the new fiscal year that starts Sept. 1 for each of these three areas. This is all information that is routinely made available to Kentucky Baptists.

Southern Baptist Convention — $9,136,887 (37.32%)

The Cooperative Program allocation that goes to the Southern Baptist Convention is divided the following ways based on the SBC’s CP funding formula:

International Mission Board – $4,568,445 (18.66%)
The International Mission Board is the organization that leads our missions works outside of the United States and Canada. The funds help support the operations of the Mission Board and support staff located in Richmond, Va. as well as the work of more than 5,500 missionaries around the world.
North American Mission Board – $2,082,297 (8.51%)
The North American Mission Board is the organization that leads our missions work inside the United States and Canada. The funds help support the operations of the Mission Board and support staff located in Alpharetta, Ga. as well as the work of more than 5,600 missionaries, many of them jointly funded by NAMB and the state conventions, who serve across the nation.
Southern Baptist Seminaries – $2,002,805 (8.18%)
Southern Baptists have six seminaries that provide theological education — Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Ca.; Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, La.; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.; and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
SBC Operating Budget – $310,654 (1.27%)
The amount goes to fund the SBC Executive Committee and related activities, such as the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting and Baptist Press. The SBC Executive Committee has its offices in Nashville, Tenn.
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission – $150,758 (.62%)
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is an agency of the SBC dedicated to addressing social and moral concerns and their implications on public policy issues. It has offices in Nashville, Tenn. and Washington, D.C.
Historical Library & Archives – $21,928 (.09%)
The Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives is a worldwide center for the study of Baptist history. Operated by the Council of Seminary Presidents, the SBHLA is one of the major denominational collections in the nation and serves by assignment of the Southern Baptist Convention as the central depository and archives of SBC records. The Library and Archives is located in the Southern Baptist Convention Building in Nashville, Tenn.

Kentucky Baptist Mission Board — $9,015,276 (36.83%)

The Cooperative Program allocation to the Kentucky Baptist Mission Board is divided the following ways:

Leadership Development — $1,673,185 (6.83%)
Funds the Church Retirement Plan for Kentucky Baptist ministers and church staff; leadership development training and consultation for churches; support for ministers in need; couples and seniors events; worship and music training and consultation; the Shepherding the Shepherd Conference and more.
Evangelism Growth — $1,508,682 (6.16%)
Funds evangelism training events; on-site consultation for churches and associations; Baptist Campus Ministry on college campuses statewide; evangelism conferences; Crossover activities; creative ministries training events and more.
Missions Growth — $1,292,738 (5.28%)
Funds disaster relief, construction, ex-offender mentoring and other ministries; ethnic and language ministries; new church starts; association support; partnership missions projects and more.
Church Development — $1,142,537 (4.67%)
Funds training events for churches; youth leader training and youth events; on-site training and consutations for chures and associations; support for Sunday school and discipleship training efforts; church building efforts; stewardship training and more.
Executive Office — $1,264,713 (5.17%)
Funds Cooperative Program promotion; communications services such as printed material, Web site management and video production; research; special Convention projects and more.
Business Services — $1,157,911 (4.73%)
Funds distribution of CP and other funds; accounting and budget services; collection of Annual Church Profile data; human resource management; Mission Board computer systems and more.
General Items — $975,510 (3.98%)
Funds KBC scholarships, maintenance of the Kentucky Baptist Archives; expenses of the Kentucky Baptist annual meeting; KBC committee work; and more.

Christian Education and KBC Entities — $6,327,837 (25.85%)

The final group to receive Cooperative Program funding from Kentucky is made of 10 Christian education institutions and other entities. They are:

Campbellsville University*
Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is a comprehensive, Christain education institution located in Campbellsville, Ky.
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College*
Founded in 1926, Clear Creek Baptist Bible College is located in Pineville. The college provides a Bible-based education focused on Christian service.
Oneida Baptist Institute*
Oneida Baptist Institute is a unique Christian boarding school for boys and girls in grades 6-12. The school combines the values of a traditional Christian school with openness to non-Christians and students with all kinds of needs and backgrounds.
University of the Cumberlands*
The University of the Cumberlands is a comprehensive, Christian education institution located in Williamsburg, Ky.
Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union — $529,947 (2.16%)
The Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union is an auxiliary of the KBC that focuses on missions education and support. Kentucky WMU is the sponsor of the Eliza Broadus Offering for Kentucky state missions.
Western Recorder — $403,872 (1.65%)
The Western Recorder is the state Baptist newspaper for Kentucky. It publishes weekly on Tuesday and is distributed by mail statewide. All Kentucky Baptist pastors receive a free subscription.
Kentucky Baptist Assemblies — $402,298 (1.64%)
Operating under the name “Crossings Ministries,” Kentucky Baptist Assemblies is a camping ministry that exists to provide an encironment in which guests can come to Christ or more fully experience Him. Through Cedarmore Conference Center near Bagdad, Ky. and Jonathan Creek Conference Center in Hardin, Ky., KBA offers a vaiety of camping and mission experiences for children, youth and adults as well as facilities that groups can use for their own events and retreats.
Sunrise Children’s Services — $369,091 (1.51%)
Formerly known as Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children, Sunrise Children’s Services is a non-profit agency that cares for children and youth who have fallen victim to abuse or neglect. Sunrise has residential programs and foster care homes throughout Kentucky. Sunrise also has pregnancy and adoption services and provides family counseling.
Kentucky Baptist Foundation — $350,665 (1.43%)
The Kentucky Baptist Foundation provides financial services for individuals, KBC-related churches, associations, institutions and agencies and certain other organizations. The Foundation also provides investment management and accounting services for Kentucky and Southern Baptist-related churches, associations, institutions and agencies and certain other organizations.
Kentucky Baptist Healthcare System — $6,652 (.03%)
One of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in Kentucky, the Baptist Healthcare System owns five acute-care hospitals with more than 1,500 licensed beds in Louisville, Lexington, Paducah, Corbin and La Grange, and manages a 300-bed acute-care hospital in Elizabethtown.