[1]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–More state conventions are committed to sending a larger share of Cooperative Program dollars to Southern Baptist causes worldwide by reducing the portion they keep for ministry within the state.
Kentucky Baptists set the pace for next year when messengers to their annual meeting approved a 5.54 percent increase to the national Southern Baptist Convention. Sixteen of the 41 state conventions and fellowships will increase the percentage of CP dollars sent beyond their states in 2011, most of them making the change at a time when their own in-state budgets were cut.
Only eight state bodies increased their own budgets for next year, a half-dozen kept them flat, and the majority made cuts as extreme as 13.6 percent for the Baptist General Convention of Texas and nearly 10 percent for Kansas-Nebraska. Of the 24 state conventions and fellowships that passed lower budgets, seven did so while increasing the share of dollars sent to national and international causes, including Indiana, Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Dakotas, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, and North Carolina.
Summaries of officer elections and budgets follow:
ALABAMA — Mike Shaw, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pelham, was elected president, and John Killian, pastor of Maytown Baptist Church in Maytown, was elected first vice president. Messengers approved a $43 million budget, down from $46 million for the current year, while continuing to send 42.5 percent to SBC causes.
ALASKA — Charles Worthy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Willow, was elected president and Tom Hoffman, pastor of Fairview Loop Baptist Church in Wasilla, first vice president. A $2.1 million budget was approved for 2011, up 3 percent over the current budget, while maintaining an allocation of 33 percent to SBC causes from Cooperative Program gifts by Alaska’s churches.
[2]ARIZONA — James Harms, pastor of First Baptist Church in Sierra Vista, was elected as president and Shaun Whitey, pastor of Indian Baptist Church in Phoenix was elected first vice president. A 2011 budget of just over $5 million represents a .9 percent increase over the current budget, while increasing the portion of CP gifts forwarded to SBC causes from 26.016 percent to 26.05 percent.
ARKANSAS — Clay Hallmark, pastor of First Baptist Church in Marion, was re-elected president and Kim Bridges, pastor of First Baptist Church in Marmaduke was elected first vice president. Messengers approved a flat budget of nearly $21.5 million for 2011, with a 0.2 percent increase for SBC causes to 42.57 percent.
CALIFORNIA — Steve Davidson, pastor of Clovis Hills Community Church, was elected president over Michael Nolen, pastor of Southwinds Church in Tracy, with Pete Ramirez, pastor of Iglesia Bautista White Road in San Jose elected first vice president. A 2011 budget of just over $11 million was approved, a 4.6 percent decrease from the current budget, with the portion sent to SBC causes remaining at 30 percent.
COLORADO — Messengers re-elected as president Sean Cole, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Sterling, and Aaron “Tree” Cooper, pastor of The Alpine Chapel in Telluride, as first vice president. Messengers approved a 2011 budget of $3.74 million, slightly lower than last year while increasing the percentage of CP contributions to the Southern Baptist Convention to 29.75 percent, up .25 percent.
DAKOTAS — Re-elected to serve as president and vice president were Steve Ford, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Vermillion, S.D., and Tim Thompson, pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Mobridge, S.D. Messengers approved a 2011 budget of $1,305,484, a $15,800 decrease from 2010, while increasing by .5 percent the portion of CP contributions forwarded for national and international missions causes to 16 percent.
D.C. — Yvonne Lamb, a member of Dayspring Community Church in Lanham, Md., was elected president, and Kendrick Curry, pastor of Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist church in Washington, D.C., vice president. A $1,079,431 budget for 2011 was approved, representing a decrease of 5.1 percent from the current year, with 35 percent of undesignated budget receipts allocated for Southern Baptist and American Baptist causes.
FLORIDA — David Uth, pastor of First Baptist Church in Orlando, was elected president, with Joel Breidenbaugh, pastor of First Baptist Church of Sweetwater in Longwood, elected first vice president. A 2011 budget of $31.7 million, 6.2 percent lower than the current year, was approved, continuing to send 40 percent to SBC causes
GEORGIA — Messengers re-elected Dan Spencer, pastor of First Baptist Church of Thomasville, to a second term as president and John Waters, pastor of First Baptist Church in Statesboro, as first vice president. Approval was given to a $45 million budget for 2011, which is a $500,000 decrease from the current year, and which continues to allocate roughly 41 percent to the national and international work of the Southern Baptist Convention.
HAWAII — Walter Agena, a member of OlaNui! in Honolulu, was re-elected president, and Steve Irvin, pastor of Pali View Baptist Church in Honolulu, was elected first vice president. Messengers approved a slightly higher budget of $3,171,123 for 2010, while continuing to send 31.5 percent of CP receipts to SBC causes.
ILLINOIS — Doug Munton, pastor of First Baptist Church in O’Fallon, and Jonathon Peters, pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia, were re-elected by acclamation to serve as president and vice president, respectively. Messengers approved a flat budget of $6.85 million, and kept the percentage of Cooperative Program dollars sent to national and international causes at 43.25 percent.
INDIANA — Messengers elected Scott Hobbs, pastor of First Baptist Church in Griffith, as president and Randall Forsythe, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Portage, as first vice president. The nearly $4.7 million budget represents a decrease of $102,929, while increasing the portion forwarded to national and international missions and ministries by 1 percentage point to 37.5 percent.
IOWA — Messengers re-elected Ted Keys, pastor of Community Southern Baptist Church in Waterloo, as president and Eugene Guthrie, pastor of Crestwood Baptist Church, as first vice president. A 2011 budget of $1,875,128 was adopted, down 1.2 percent from the current year, while the amount of Cooperative Program receipts forwarded to national and international missions and ministries remains at 20 percent.
KANSAS-NEBRASKA — Messengers re-elected Ron Pracht, pastor of Olivet Southern Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan., as president and John Shields, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Lexington, Neb., as vice president. A 2011 budget of $5.19 million was approved, nearly 10 percent below the current year’s budget, while continuing to allocate 32 percent of CP receipts for SBC causes.
KENTUCKY — Floyd Paris, pastor of Unity Baptist Church in Ashland, was elected president and Dan Summerlin, senior pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah, was elected first vice president. A flat budget of $23.5 million was approved, with the SBC allocation increased from 38 to 43.54 percent following passage of a task force proposal that will move the state convention to a 50/50 division within a decade. If a 2011 challenge goal is met, 66.9 percent of the additional income will go to SBC causes.
LOUISIANA — Rod Masteller, pastor of Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport, was re-elected president, and Rick Byargeon, pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Ruston, was elected first vice president. Louisiana Baptists approved a 2011 budget of $21,284,217, down $1.2 million from the current year, while continuing to send 36.49 percent to SBC causes.
MARYLAND-DELAWARE — Ken Stalls, pastor of South End Baptist Church in Frederick, Md., was elected president, with Harold Phillips, pastor of Pleasant View Church in Port Deposit, Md., re-elected as first vice president. Messengers approved the 2011 budget of $6,023,335, down $245,700 from the current year, while continuing to send 41 percent of CP gifts to SBC causes.
MICHIGAN — Roscoe Bolton, pastor of Middlebelt Baptist Church in Inkster, was elected president and Sharon Greer, a member of Roscommon Baptist Church in Roscommon, was elected first vice president. Messengers approved a 2011 budget of $3,091,308, down 4.65 percent from the current year. The portion of Cooperative Program receipts forwarded beyond the state to SBC causes was reduced from 30.5 percent to 25 percent.
MINNESOTA-WISCONSIN — Re-elected as president and first vice president, respectively, were Jeff Nettles, pastor of Rolling Hills Church in Platteville, Wis., and Make Fahey, pastor of Roseville (Minn.) Baptist Church. Messengers adopted a $1,967,513 budget, 4 percent lower than the current year, while increasing the percentage of undesignated receipts for national and international causes from 13 to 13.5 percent.
MISSISSIPPI — Gary Richardson, pastor of North Oxford Baptist Church in Oxford, was re-elected president and Paul Crowley, pastor of Woolmarket Baptist Church in Biloxi, was elected first vice president. Messengers approved a 2011 Cooperative Program budget of $33 million, a 3.2 percent decrease from the current year’s budget, while authorizing a one-quarter percent-of-budget increase in support of Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries to 35.25 percent.
MISSOURI — John Marshall, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Springfield, was elected president and Wesley Hammond, pastor of First Baptist Church in Paris, was elected first vice president. A budget of $15.1 million was approved for 2011, a slight increase over the current year. The portion sent to SBC causes increases by .25 percent to 37 percent.
MONTANA — William Johnson, pastor of Gallatin Valley Community Church, was re-elected president and Carl Wood, a layman from First Baptist Church in Hamilton, was re-elected vice president. The 2011 budget — reduced by $17,282 to $1,501,930 — was passed, with the percentage of Cooperative Program dollars leaving the state for SBC causes remaining at 22 percent.
NEVADA — Messengers elected a slate of new officers, including Ron Trummell, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Pahrump, as president and Thomas Chandler, pastor of First Baptist Church in Carson City, as first vice president. A flat $2.38 million budget was approved for 2011 while the amount of Cooperative Program funds sent to national and international Southern Baptist causes increased by one-half percentage point to 30 percent.
NEW ENGLAND — Messengers re-elected Phil Wilkes, pastor of New Colony Baptist Church in Billerica, Mass., as president and elected Ron Mills, a layman from Island Pond Baptist Church in Hampstead, N.H., as vice president. A flat budget of $2.98 million was approved for 2011 as was an increase in the portion forwarded to SBC causes to 21.75 percent, a .25 percent increase over 2010.
NEW MEXICO -– Messengers elected R. Maurice Hollingsworth, pastor of First Baptist Church in Las Cruces, as president and Gary Wolfe, pastor of First Baptist Church in Otis, as first vice president. A 2011 Cooperative Program budget of $4.01 million was approved, representing a reduction of 10.36 percent from 2010, with the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes remaining at 30.5 percent.
NEW YORK — Messengers elected Jim Hundley, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Cortland, N.Y., as president, and Duane Arnold, pastor of Southport Baptist Church in Elmira, N.Y., as first vice president. A flat budget of $3.19 million was approved, as was an increase in the percentage of Cooperative Program mission funds sent to national and international causes from 27.75 percent to 28 percent.
NORTH CAROLINA — Ed Yount, pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Conover, was re-elected president, and Mark Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte, was re-elected first vice president. Messengers adopted a $32.7 million budget, 6 percent smaller than the current year while increasing the portion sent to SBC causes by one-half percentage point to 35 percent.
NORTHWEST — Northwest Baptist Convention messengers re-elected Washington pastor Scott Brewer, founding pastor of Meadowbrook Baptist Church in Redmond, Wash., as president and Walt Kellcy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lakewood, Wash., as first vice president. A $5.36 million budget for 2011 was approved, representing an 8.4 percent decrease from the current year and keeping the same 25.5 percent allocated to SBC causes.
OHIO — Messengers re-elected Ron Hopkins, pastor of Briggs Road Baptist Church in Columbus, as president and Mike Wilson, pastor of Lincoln Heights Baptist Church in Mansfield, as first vice president. A 2011 budget of nearly $4.7 was approved, representing a decrease of 8 percent from the current year, continuing to send 40.25 percent of CP gifts to SBC causes.
OKLAHOMA — Douglas Melton, pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, was elected president, with Griff Henderson, pastor of Waterloo Road Baptist Church in Edmond, elected first vice president. Messengers approved a $24.2 million budget which represents a 7 percent decrease from the current budget, continuing to allocate 40 percent to the SBC national and international missions and ministries.
PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY — Kim Grueser, pastor of Pittsburgh (Pa.) Baptist Church, was elected president, and Louis Paradiso, pastor of Temple Baptist Church in York, Pa., was elected vice president. The 2011 budget of $3,683,949 represents a 5.02 percent increase and again increases the portion to be forwarded to national and international missions and ministries of the SBC by .1 percentage point to 25.3 percent.
SOUTH CAROLINA — Sonny Holmes, pastor of Northwood Baptist Church in North Charleston, was elected president over D.J. Horton, pastor of Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church in Moore. Brad Atkins, pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church in Easley, was elected first vice president. The $29.54 million budget approved for 2011 represents a reduction of more than 8 percent from the current year’s budget while increasing from 40.44 percent to 41 percent the portion of receipts that will be forwarded to the SBC for national and international missions and ministries. Funds received in excess of budget requirements will be allocated evenly among the SCBC’s seven member institutions.
TENNESSEE — Messengers elected Poly Rouse, pastor of Hermitage Hills Baptist Church in Hermitage, as president, and Fred Shackelford, pastor of Springhill Baptist Church, in Paris, as first vice president. A budget of $36.5 million was approved, an increase of half a million dollars; the budget continues to send 40 percent of undesignated receipts to SBC causes. A million dollar challenge budget will divide receipts 50/50 between SBC and Tennessee causes if the budget is exceeded.
TEXAS (BGCT) — Victor Rodriguez, pastor of South San Filadelfia Baptist Church in San Antonio, was elected president, with Jerry Carlisle, pastor of First Baptist Church in Plano, elected first vice president. Messengers adopted a $38 million budget for 2011, a 13.6 percent decrease from the 2010 budget, while continuing to forward 21 percent to SBC causes in the preferred adopted budget.
TEXAS (SBTC) — Byron McWilliams, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Odessa, was re-elected president, with Loui Canchola, pastor of Cornerstone Church in McAllen, as vice president. A $25.4 million budget was approved for 2011, a 2.55 percent increase over the current year. The amount forwarded to SBC causes remains at 55 percent.
UTAH-IDAHO — James Gregory, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Mountain Home, Idaho, was re-elected president, with Jim Panagoplos, pastor of First Baptist Church in Roy, Utah, as first vice president. Messengers approved a 2011 budget of $2,480,080, down 1.8 percent from the current year, while continuing to forward 25 percent of Cooperative Program receipts to Southern Baptists’ national and international missions and ministries.
VIRGINIA (BGAV) — Messengers elected Bob Bass, a layman from Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond, as president, and Mark Croston, pastor of East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, as first vice president. The $13.35 million budget for 2011 is $650,000 less than the current year’s budget, with no change to the four funding tracks, one of which is pre-set to contribute 34 percent to SBC causes.
VIRGINIA (SBCV) — Mark Becton, pastor of Grove Avenue Baptist Church in Richmond, was re-elected president and Stewart McCarter, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Suffolk, was elected first vice president. Messengers adopted a budget of $9 million, a 2 percent decrease from the current year, while increasing the portion sent to national and international mission causes through the SBC to 50.25 percent, an increase of a quarter percent.
WEST VIRGINIA — Seth Polk, pastor of Cross Lanes Baptist Church in Cross Lanes, was re-elected president, and Greg Varndell, pastor of Fairlawn Baptist Church in Parkersburg, was elected first vice president. Messengers approved a 2011 budget of $2,930,387, up slightly from $2.8 million for the current year, while continuing to forward 38 percent of CP receipts to national and international missions and ministries.
WYOMING — Buddy Hanson, pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church in Mills, was re-elected president, and Quin Williams, pastor of Boyd Avenue Baptist Church in Casper, was elected first vice president. Messengers approved an overall budget of $1.54 million, a .5 percent increase over the current year, while continuing to send 32.5 percent of CP receipts to national and international missions and ministries.
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Tammi Reed Ledbetter is news editor of the Southern Baptist TEXAN (www.texanonline.net), newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.