WEST CHESTER, Ohio (BP)–Messengers to the annual meeting of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio adopted a resolution of support for the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention and approved the first reading of a resolution in support of the newly revised Baptist Faith and Message.
The meeting, held Nov. 1-2 at Liberty Heights Church, A Southern Baptist Fellowship, in West Chester, Ohio, included 447 messengers and 635 registered attendees.
Under the “Partners in the Harvest” banner, messengers from the convention’s 612 churches and church-type missions took the first step in adopting the 2000 edition Baptist Faith and Message statement. Messengers approved the first reading of the change during convention business. Under constitution bylaws, the change will be voted on the following year.
In other convention action:
— A total budget of $7,529,618 was approved with $4,545,759 being used in Ohio and 40 percent or $2,982,859 being allocated for Beyond Ohio. Forty percent of the gifts received from the churches is dedicated to the Cooperative Program — $1,836.559. The total budget represents a three percent increase over the 2000 budget.
— Will Langford, pastor of Lakota Hills Baptist Church in West Chester, Ohio was elected for a second term as president of the convention. Dave Hill, pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio was re-elected for a second term as first vice president. Jerome Byrd, pastor of Good News Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, was elected second vice president. Faye Rodgers, a member of the First Southern Baptist Church of North Canton, Ohio, was elected recording secretary.
Messengers adopted a resolution in support of CP giving, stating:
“Whereas, the Cooperative Program is celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary of being the lifeline of support for Great Commission missions; and
“Whereas, an increasing number of leaders and members of the Ohio Baptist churches are products of missions supported by the Cooperative Program; and
“Whereas, there is a great potential for a growing commitment to start and strengthen churches in Ohio and the world beyond through Cooperative Program support;
“Therefore, be it resolved that we, the messengers of the forty-seventh meeting of our state convention, encourage churches in Ohio and across the Southern Baptist Convention to continue and grow in whole hearted participation in the Cooperative Program.”
Guest speakers at the convention included Paige Patterson, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; D.L. Lowery, pastor of First Baptist Church, Lubbock, Texas; and David Hankins, vice president for Cooperative Program at the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The annual sermon was delivered by Jerome Byrd, an African-American pastor from Good News Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The 2001 annual meeting of the Ohio convention will be held Nov. 7-8 at the Akron Hilton, Quaker Square, in Akron, Ohio.
–30–
