BILLINGS, Mont. (BP) — Montana Baptists will send one percent more of their Cooperative Program receipts to national and international Southern Baptist Convention causes in 2015 than in 2014.
Messengers to the Montana annual meeting and pastors’ conference voted to give to the national SBC 25 percent of an anticipated $523,000 in Cooperative Program gifts from Montana churches, compared to the 24 percent given this year, Montana Baptists reported to Baptist Press. The state’s 2015 total budget is $1,140,543.
Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd, among key speakers at the meeting themed “Knowing Our Mission,” challenged pastors to live with urgency.
“In this day and time in which we live we don’t need to be playing it safe,” Floyd said. “No, this is a moment when we need to be believing in God for the impossible; when we need to be seeing that which man says ‘that cannot be done,’ but expecting a God who can do anything at any time with anyone, including you.”
Featured speaker Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, encouraged pastors to stay on mission.
“The hardest responsibility of every senior leader is keeping the organization riveted on the mission,” Iorg said, explaining that even good things should not be substituted for the task for which the church is primarily responsible — to proclaim Christ (Philippians 1:18).
The Montana Southern Baptist Convention reelected as president Bruce Speer, pastor of Cross Point Community Church in Missoula, and reelected vice president Steve Young, pastor of South Hills Baptist Church in Montana City. Montana Baptists celebrated the retirement of longtime church planting missionary Sam Birky and honored him for his service.
Speer, Young and Montana Baptist executive director Fred Hewett delivered messages to challenge and encourage Montana pastors. The Gospel Truth Bluegrass Band and Mark Langley led worship for the meeting held Oct. 16 — 17 Yellowstone Christian College, one of many ministries supported by Montana Southern Baptist churches.
All messages from the meeting are available at montana.e-quip.net.
The 2015 Annual Meeting is scheduled for October 6-7 in Bozeman.
