BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (BP)–Churches of the Colorado Baptist General Convention increased their percentage of contributions to national and international Cooperative Program missions causes during their 55th annual meeting, Oct. 19-20 in Breckenridge, Colo. Messengers also heard an interim report from a task force commissioned to evaluate the state convention’s structure.
Under the theme “Empowered!” 187 messengers from 79 churches approved a 2011 budget of $3.74 million, with anticipated Cooperative Program contributions of more than $1.93 million and a commitment of 29.75 percent of CP contributions being forwarded to the Southern Baptist Convention, an increase of .25 of a percentage point from 2010.
Convention President Sean Cole, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Sterling, was re-elected. Aaron “Tree” Cooper, pastor of The Alpine Chapel in Telluride, was elected first vice president. The convention’s second vice president, Rand Clark, pastor of Genesis Church in Castle Rock, and the recording secretary, Ginger LeBlanc, executive administrative assistant for the Colorado convention, both were re-elected.
Union Missionary Baptist Church in Denver was welcomed into affiliation with the convention.
In 2009, CBGC Executive Director Mark Edlund asked the convention’s Executive Board to select a task force for the purpose of evaluating what the structure of the convention should be in order to accomplish its vision statement of the convention: “The Colorado Baptist General Convention is saturating Colorado with the Gospel — penetrating all pockets of lostness.” Bob Bender, pastor of First Baptist Church Black Forest in Colorado Springs, was selected to chair the Mission/Strategy/Structure Task Force.
Bender reported that the task force has spent more than 400 hours in prayer, evaluation, discussion and development of a strategy and structure for the Colorado Baptist General Convention. A brochure identifying four major roles of the state convention — 1) “glocal” (global and local) disciple-making, 2) strategic networking, 3) supporting systems and 4) theological education — was distributed to messengers.
In 2011, town hall meetings will be held in each association to give churches the opportunity to discuss and give input to the task force report, Bender said. The final report will be presented and voted on at the 2011 annual meeting.
Agape Outpost Chapel in Breckenridge hosted the annual meeting at Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center. Guest speakers for the sessions were Art Azurdia, associate professor of pastoral theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Ore., and Mike Atkinson, Agape Outpost pastor. Azurdia spoke from John 14, posing the question, “What are you asking God to do that only God can do so that when He does it only He gets the glory for it?” Atkinson read from 2 Timothy 2:2 and spoke about “4G discipleship.”
The 2011 annual meeting will be held Oct. 18-19 at Riverside Baptist Church in Denver, with the Pastors’ Conference slated Oct. 17.
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Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Mark Kelly.
