[1]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Over the course of a three-month period, the state conventions affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention have held their annual meetings. Seventeen of the 41 state conventions increased the portion of Cooperative Program funds forwarded to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries, while 27 reported increases in their budgets ranging from less than 1 percent to 14 percent.
ALABAMA — Jimmy Jackson, pastor of Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville, was elected president, and Mike Shaw, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pelham, was elected first vice president. Messengers approved a $46 million budget for 2009 which represents an increase of 3.17 percent from the current year, while also increasing the portion sent to SBC causes by two-tenths of a percent to 42.5 percent.
ALASKA — Ed Gregory, pastor of First Baptist Church in Anchorage, was elected president and Bryan Myers, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Fairbanks, was elected first vice president. A $2 million budget was approved for 2009, up 2 percent over the current budget, while maintaining an allocation of 33 percent to SBC causes from Cooperative Program gifts by Alaska’s churches.
ARIZONA — Steve Ballew, pastor of Trinity Southern Baptist Church in Casa Grande, was elected president and Ryan Goebel, student ministry pastor at Mountain Ridge Baptist Church in Glendale, was re-elected first vice president, both by acclamation. A 2009 budget of nearly $5.5 million represents a 3.2 percent increase over the current year, while increasing the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes by .38 percent to 25.88 percent.
ARKANSAS — Wes George, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rogers, and Clay Hallmark, pastor of First Baptist Church of Marion, were both re-elected without opposition to the offices of president and first vice president, respectively. Messengers approved a $21 million budget for 2009, a 2.5 percent increase over the current year, with a 0.2 percent increase for SBC causes to 42.17 percent.
CALIFORNIA — Walter Price, pastor of Fellowship in the Pass in Beaumont, was elected president, and Larry Macasero, pastor of Bonita Road Baptist Church in Chula Vista, was elected first vice president, both by acclamation. A $12.2 million 2009 budget was approved, representing an increase of 4.73 percent over the current year, with the portion sent to SBC causes increased by 1 percent to 30 percent.
[2]COLORADO — Bob Bender, pastor of First Baptist Church Black Forest in Colorado Springs, was elected to a second term as president, with Doug Allen, pastor of First Baptist Church in Westcliffe, elected first vice president. A budget of more than $4 million was approved for 2009, representing a 1.5 percent increase from 2008, while continuing to send 29.5 percent of CP receipts to SBC causes.
DAKOTAS — Vince Smith, pastor of Cross Pointe Baptist in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Steve Lindsay, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Rapid City, S.D., were re-elected by acclamation to the offices of president and vice president, respectively. A budget of over $1.3 million was approved for 2009, representing an increase of just over 1 percent from the current year, with the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes increasing half a percent 15 percent.
D.C. — Ella Redfield, pastor, New Creation Baptist Church in Wheaton, Md., and Melvin Doxie, a member of First Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., were elected by acclamation to the offices of president and vice president, respectively. A $1,167,484 budget for 2009 was approved, representing a slight decrease from the current year, with 35 percent of undesignated cooperative budget receipts allocated for Southern Baptist and American Baptist causes.
FLORIDA — John Cross, pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Port, was elected president, with Wayne Briant, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Sarasota, elected vice president without opposition. A 2009 budget of more than $39.1 million, representing less than a 1 percent decrease from last year’s revised budget, continues to send 40 percent to SBC causes.
GEORGIA — Bucky Kennedy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Vidalia, was re-elected as president without opposition, with Billy Godwin, pastor of Ephesus Baptist Church in Winston, elected first vice president. A budget of $49.6 million was approved for 2009, down from the current year’s $52 million budget, with the portion sent to SBC causes remaining at 41.36 percent.
HAWAII — Robert Miller, pastor of Waialae Baptist Church in Honolulu, was elected president, with Walter Agena, a layman from OlaNui! Church in Honolulu, elected first vice president. A $3.6 million budget for 2009 was approved, representing a 1 percent increase over the current year, with the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes remaining at 31.5 percent.
ILLINOIS — Kevin Kerr, pastor of First Baptist Church in Machesney Park, and Doug Munton, pastor of First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, were both re-elected to their offices as president and vice president, respectively. Messengers approved a $9.1 million budget for 2009, up 2.2 percent over the current year, with the portion of Cooperative Program gifts sent to SBC causes increasing a quarter of a percent to 43.25 percent.
INDIANA — Alan Scott, pastor of Oakhill Baptist in Evansville, was elected as president and Scott Hobbs, pastor of First Baptist in Griffith, as first vice president. The $4.79 million budget represents a 2.1 percent increase over 2008, with the portion sent to SBC causes increasing by 1 percent to 35.5 percent.
IOWA — Dan Wiersema, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, and Ted Keys, pastor of Community Southern Baptist Church in Waterloo, were elected as president and vice president, respectively. Messengers approved a budget of more than $1.7 million, up 2 percent from the current year, with 20 percent of CP gifts continuing to be sent to SBC causes.
KANSAS-NEBRASKA — Steve Holdaway, pastor of LifeSpring Church in Bellevue, Neb., and Ron Pracht, pastor of Olivet Southern Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan., were re-elected by acclamation as president and vice president, respectively. A budget of more than $5.6 million represents a 1 percent increase from the current year, while the portion of CP gifts from the churches allocated for SBC causes remains at 32 percent.
KENTUCKY — John Mark Toby, pastor of Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Somerset, was elected president and Skip Alexander, pastor of Campbellsville Baptist Church, was elected first vice president, both by acclamation. A budget of nearly $24.5 million was approved for the 2009-10 fiscal year, representing an increase of 2 percent over the current goal, with the SBC allocation increasing by .28 percent to 37.32 percent.
LOUISIANA — Mike Holloway, pastor of Cook Baptist church in Ruston, was re-elected without opposition, with Tim Johnson, vice president for institutional advancement at Louisiana College, elected as first vice president. A 2009 budget of over $22.5 million was approved, up $1.3 million over the current year, with the portion sent to SBC causes increasing by .45 percent to 35.95 percent.
MARYLAND-DELAWARE — Byron Day, pastor of Emmanuel Church in Laurel, Md., was elected president, with Robert Lilly, pastor of Catonsville (Md.) Baptist Church, elected as first vice president. Messengers approved the 2009 budget of $6.4 million, down from $7.1 million in 2008. The convention will continue to send 41 percent of CP gifts to SBC causes.
MICHIGAN — Ken Render, senior pastor of Lakeside Community Church in St. Clair Shores, and Bob Carpenter, pastor of Cedar Street Church in Holt, were elected president and first vice president, respectively. The 2009 budget of nearly $3.4 million was a slight decrease from the current year, continuing to allocate 30.5 percent of CP gifts from Michigan churches to SBC causes.
MINNESOTA-WISCONSIN — Les Stevens, pastor of Viola (Minn.) Bible Church, and Arne Gulbrandsen, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Racine, Wis., were re-elected to second terms as president and first vice president, respectively. Messengers approved a 2009 budget of over $2.1 million, slightly lower than the current year, while maintaining the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes at 13 percent.
MISSISSIPPI — Mickey Dalrymple, pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Columbus, and David Hamilton, pastor of West Heights Baptist Church in Pontotoc, were re-elected by acclamation as president and first vice president, respectively. A budget of more than $34.9 million was approved, an increase of nearly 2 percent, with the portion sent to SBC causes continuing at 35 percent.
MISSOURI — Bruce McCoy, pastor of Canaan Baptist Church in St. Louis, was elected president, with John Marshall, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Springfield elected first vice president. A $16.3 million budget was approved for 2009, down from $16.5 million in the current year. The portion sent to SBC causes increases by .25 percent to 36.5 percent.
MONTANA — Greg Peterson, pastor of Zortman (Mont.) Baptist Church, and William Johnson, pastor of Gallatin Valley Baptist Church in Manhattan, were re-elected without opposition to a second two-year term as president and vice president, respectively. A budget of over $1.5 million is $33,000 more than the current budget and continues to forward 22 percent of CP receipts to SBC causes.
NEVADA — Frank Bushey, pastor of Fellowship Community Church in Reno, was elected president, with Mark Morton, pastor of Granite Hills Baptist Church in Stead, as first vice president. A $2.8 million budget was approved, up 3 percent from the current year. The 29.5 percent of CP receipts sent to SBC causes represents an increase of .25 percent.
NEW ENGLAND — Adam Houston, pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Epping, N.H., was elected president without opposition while Bob Wellner, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Brimfield, Mass., was elected vice president. A 2009 budget of nearly $3 million represents a slight decrease over the current year, with 21.5 percent of CP gifts from New England churches continuing to be forwarded to SBC causes.
NEW MEXICO — Bruce Kirby, pastor of First Baptist Church in Raton, was elected president, with Garland Moore, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Milan, elected as first vice president, both by acclamation. A budget of just over $5 million was approved, up from the current year’s budget of nearly $4.4 million, with the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes remaining at 30.5 percent.
NEW YORK — Rick Wilburn, pastor of Tupper Lake (N.Y.) Baptist Church, was elected president and Mark Davis, pastor of West Monmouth Baptist Church in Freehold, N.J., was elected first vice president. A budget of over $3.4 million was approved, down 1.02 percent from 2008, though the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes increases by .25 percent.
NORTH CAROLINA — Rick Speas, pastor of Old Town Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, was re-elected president, with Ed Yount, pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Conover, elected as first vice president. The 2009 budget of approximately $39 million was approved in 2007. However, income projections prompted the BSCNC to operate at 90 percent of budget this year, a practice that will continue in 2009, resulting in a $3.9 million reduction.
NORTHWEST — Keith Evans, pastor of Great Gresham (Ore.) Baptist Church, was re-elected to a second term as president by acclamation, with Mark Bradley, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Pullman, Wash., elected first vice president. A $5.8 million budget was approved for 2009, representing a 1.75 percent increase over 2008, with a .25 percent increase in the portion of CP gifts forwarded to SBC causes raising the allocation to 25.5 percent.
OHIO — Travis Smalley, pastor of Lakota Hills Baptist Church in West Chester, and Ron Hopkins, pastor of Briggs Road Baptist Church in Columbus, were re-elected as president and first vice president, respectively. The $8.3 million budget was approved for 2009, a 1.86 percent increase over the current year, continuing to send 40.25 percent of CP gifts to SBC causes.
OKLAHOMA — Emerson Falls, pastor of Glorieta Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, was elected president, with Aaron Summers, pastor of First Baptist Church in Perry, elected first vice president by acclamation. A 2009 budget of $25.2 million represents a $600,000 increase over the current year, while continuing to allocate 40 percent for SBC causes.
PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY — Peter Yanes, pastor of International Bible Church in Upper Darby, Pa., was elected president, with Kim Grueser, pastor of Pittsburgh Baptist Church, elected as first vice president. A $3.46 million budget for 2009 represents a slight decrease of about $23,000. The budget, however, increases the portion of CP gifts to SBC causes from 25 to 25.1 percent next year.
SOUTH CAROLINA — Rudy Gray, pastor of Utica Baptist Church in Seneca, was elected president, with Terry Corder, pastor of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Jefferson, as first vice president. A $34 million budget for 2009 was approved, representing an increase of nearly 1 percent over the current year. While the portion allocated for SBC causes remains at 40 percent, 50 percent of any monies collected beyond the budget goal will be allocated to SBC missions and ministries.
TENNESSEE — Danny Sinquefield, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, was elected president by acclamation, and Roc Collins, pastor of Indian Springs Baptist Church in Kingsport, was elected vice president. Messengers approved a $39 million budget for 2008-09, an increase of 1.3 percent over the 2007-08 budget, continuing to send 40 percent of receipts to SBC causes.
TEXAS (BGCT) — David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon, was elected president, with Carolyn Strickland, a member of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, elected as first vice president. A $45.7 million 2009 budget represents a decrease of about 8 percent from the original 2008 budget with no change in the 21 percent forwarded to SBC causes in the preferred adopted budget.
TEXAS (SBTC) — Bob Pearle, pastor of Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth, was re-elected president by acclamation, with Kevin Ueckert, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Abilene, elected as first vice president. A $24.5 million budget was approved for 2009, an increase of nearly 14 percent over the current year, with the portion sent to SBC causes increasing by 1 percent to 55 percent.
UTAH-IDAHO — Paul Thompson, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, was re-elected president, with John Williams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Monticello, Utah, as first vice president. A budget of over $2.5 million in 2009 is up 3.09 percent over the current year and continues to forward 21.5 percent of CP gifts to SBC causes.
VIRGINIA (BGAV) — Jeff Bloomer, a member of Culpeper (Va.) Baptist Church, was elected president without opposition, with Tim Madison, pastor of Madison Heights (Va.) Baptist Church, elected as first vice president. Messengers approved a 2009 budget of $13.8 million, $560,000 less than the current year with no change to the four funding tracks, one of which is pre-set to contribute 34 percent to SBC causes.
VIRGINIA (SBCV) — Tim Hight, senior pastor of Main Street Baptist Church in Christiansburg, and Michael Palmer, senior pastor of Green Ridge Baptist Church in Roanoke, were re-elected unanimously as president and vice president, respectively. Messengers approved a $9.5 million budget for 2009, up 2.1 percent over the current year while continuing a 50/50 split of CP funds between the SBCV and SBC.
WEST VIRGINIA — Tim Kearney, a member of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Scott Depot, was re-elected as president without opposition and Seth Polk, pastor of Cross Lanes Baptist Church in Charleston, was re-elected vice president. A budget of over $2.8 million for 2009 represents an increase of $108,775 over the current year while maintaining the portion of CP gifts sent to SBC causes at 38 percent.
WYOMING — Dave Stillie, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Rawlins, was elected president by acclamation, with Buddy Hanson, pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church in Casper, re-elected as vice president. A 2009 budget of more than $1.4 million, slightly down from the current year, was approved, with 32.5 percent of CP gifts continuing to be sent to SBC causes.
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Compiled by Tammi Reed Ledbetter, news editor of the Southern Baptist TEXAN.