Editor’s note: Jonathan Jarboe is president of the Baptist Foundation of California, a member of Pathway Church, Redlands, Calif., and currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the North American Mission Board.
Scripture reminds us that those entrusted with responsibility in the Church are not owners, but stewards. The apostle Paul writes that it is required of stewards that they be found faithful (1 Corithians 4:1-2). That principle guides how Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) entities approach ministry, leadership and financial stewardship. Each year, the SBC Ministry Report serves as one way we seek to live out that calling with transparency and integrity.
The North American Mission Board (NAMB) and its other entity partners submit reports at the beginning of each year, and they are published online by the SBC Executive Committee (SBCEC). At its February meeting in Nashville, SBCEC members ask entity leaders questions based on their reports.
At a high level, the report provides Southern Baptists with a clear snapshot of who we are, what we do, and how we manage the resources entrusted to us for Gospel work across North America.
The report is organized into several straightforward sections. Ministry inquiries direct specific questions to NAMB. The Goals and Accomplishments section summarizes the outcomes of the past year. There is also a place for listing challenges we face and how we foresee overcoming them.
A significant portion of the report is devoted to Financial Management, and rightly so. Southern Baptists deserve clarity and confidence regarding how Cooperative Program and designated funds such as the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering are managed. This section explains how NAMB budgets, monitors expenditures, and applies financial controls to ensure resources are used appropriately and effectively.
Also included is NAMB’s most recently published Audited Financial Statement. These statements provide an independent, third-party review of NAMB’s financial position and practices. Independent audits are one of the most important safeguards for any nonprofit organization, and they offer Southern Baptists assurance that financial reporting meets established accounting standards.
At NAMB’s most recent Board of Trustees meeting, I and other trustees heard in person from our outside, independent auditors who gave NAMB an unqualified, clean audit – the highest rating possible. We were able to ask questions and interact with the auditors to gain as much information as we needed.
Beyond this report, NAMB publishes detailed financial information on its Financial Transparency and Accountability page.
Financial transparency is essential, but transparency also carries a responsibility to interpret information carefully and honestly. When financial data is removed from its full context – whether intentionally or unintentionally – it can create confusion or lead to erroneous assumptions about an organization’s stability or practices.
For instance, a recent article claimed NAMB is consistently overspending, and it cited data on NAMB’s 2024 Ministry Report. The article said NAMB spent $39 million more than budgeted for 2023. But it compared actual spending to budgeted income instead of actual income – an apples to oranges comparison. In reality, actual expenses totaled $176.54 million, actual income for the year was $175.6 million. There was certainly not a $39 million overspend. Each year NAMB receives unbudgeted and often designated revenue through donations – especially for disaster and crisis responses through Send Relief. This kind of giving gets reflected in actual income and actual spending reports later.
Unfortunately, we have seen this type of misinformation too often in social media and online posts.
That is why NAMB provides annual audited financial statements and comprehensive reporting, so Southern Baptists can evaluate our stewardship based on the full picture rather than isolated data points.
The full picture for NAMB’s finances is very bright. Looking back over the last six years – spanning a global pandemic, historically high inflation, market volatility, and economic disruption – NAMB’s audited financial statements show remarkable stability. Total net assets stood at $374.2 million in 2019 and $373.6 million in 2024, a difference of less than two-tenths of 1 percent. During that same period, NAMB expanded its work through Send Network and Send Relief while maintaining strong oversight, clean audits, and a mission-focused expense structure.
The annual ministry report is one of several ways SBC entities are accountable to Southern Baptists – but it is not the only way, or even the primary one.
NAMB’s primary accountability is to its Board of Trustees. Our trustees, like the trustees of every SBC entity, are elected by messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. Each year, as trustee terms expire, new trustees are elected, ensuring ongoing representation, continuity, and fresh oversight.
Our Board of Trustees carries real responsibility and is the representative group with whom we rightly share our most detailed information. Board members review budgets, approve major financial decisions, oversee executive leadership, and ensure that NAMB remains faithful to its mission and to the trust placed in us by Southern Baptists. The board meets regularly, receives detailed financial and operational reporting, and provides direct governance and accountability throughout the year. Trustees who serve on the Board’s Financial Services Committee receive detailed monthly financial updates between full board meetings.
Trustee oversight – combined with the annual ministry report, ongoing financial audits, internal controls, and regular reporting to SBC leadership and committees – bring layers of both transparency and accountability that exist for one reason: trust.
Southern Baptists give faithfully and sacrificially because they believe in the mission and because they expect integrity in how resources are handled. That expectation is appropriate, biblical, and healthy.
The 2026 Ministry Report is not intended to answer every possible question or replace direct conversation. It is, however, an important public record of our stewardship and a reaffirmation of our commitment to the oversight messengers have established.
We are grateful for the churches, pastors, and messengers who make this work possible. Accountability is not a burden – it is a responsibility we welcome, because it strengthens trust, and keeps our focus where it belongs: advancing the Gospel together across North America.
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