By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
Louisiana Baptists will be operating on a leaner Cooperative Program budget in 2017.
During its September meeting, the Executive Board approved the Business and Finance Committee’s recommendation for the 2017 Cooperative Program Budget of $20,043,331, a decrease of $550,435 from 2016.
The budget will be brought to messengers for approval during the 2016 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria.
The allocation between SBC and LBC causes remains unchanged, with 63.26 percent going to ministries in the state and 36.74 percent forwarded to SBC causes.
The portion of the budget which funds the LBC ministries will be $12,679,411, a decrease of $348,205 from the 2016 allocation.
“The CP allocation budget is based on receipts received from August 2015 through July 2016,” said Dale Lingenfelter, business and information services director for Louisiana Baptists. “Our state is facing several economic challenges that are affecting the budgets of our churches which in turn, affects our cooperative missions and ministries.
“The budget projected for 2017 is basically the same as our 1999 budget, even though the percentage forwarded to our SBC partners is greater than it was in 1999,” he said. “We continue to receive positive feedback from pastors and churches regarding our cooperative efforts and are confident that as the economy improves, the gifts from the churches will also increase.”
HARVEST INITIATIVE
While the CP budget will be reduced, Louisiana Baptists still have much to celebrate for the near future.
Wayne Jenkins, evangelism director for Louisiana Baptists, expressed his excitement to Executive Board members about one of the largest joint efforts for evangelism ever in the state. The end goal of this Harvest Initiative is to involve at least 700 churches to pray for and share Christ with every household in Louisiana.
For this to happen, Jenkins said pastors must take the lead and enlist their members to participate in what could be a major catalyst for spiritual awakening.
“What would this state be like if every single house was prayed for, everybody would be shared with?” Jenkins said. “It can be done if we all do it together.”
After spending 2016 planning and enlisting leaders and churches, and using 2017 to conduct statewide evangelism training and piloting different initiatives, Louisiana Baptists will join together across the state in 2018 to reach the lost via door-to-door outreach and mass evangelism events.
Churches will pray for every home and share the Gospel with every person, and the effort will include multiple approaches such as one-on-one evangelism, multi-church crusades, single-church revivals and other harvest events which take advantage of compassion ministries to share about the love of Christ.
This Harvest Initiative is an outgrowth of the 2020 initiative affirmed by messengers during the 2014 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. The goal is to reach every generation and every people group in Louisiana with the Gospel by the year 2020.
Among the 10 actions identified in the 2020 initiative is the charge to equip churches with a proven evangelistic growth process, which the Harvest Initiative seeks to accomplish.
Planning for this statewide evangelistic effort began in late 2015, after Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins and LBC President Gevan Spinney announced 2017 and 2018 would be years of harvest. A group of 12 Louisiana Baptist pastors, evangelists, directors of missions and state evangelism and church growth staff met for early planning sessions.
There are 90 members now composing nine teams who are discussing ideas to include in an evangelism manual on how to share the Gospel and coordinate a harvest event. Prayer, outreach activities, discipleship and sermon ideas also will be covered.
This fall, the enlistment of 700 churches will begin.
DISASTER RELIEF
Another movement to share the Gospel in the state already is taking place.
Not long after historic flooding affected 155,000 homes in Louisiana, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams arrived on scene to give a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name.
Through late September, 170 teams from 29 state conventions have responded. They have completed more than 6,000 jobs, prepared 676,019 meals, given out 6,961 gallons of Shockwave mold killer, washed 6,133 loads of laundry and distributed 2,336 Bibles.
Of those they ministered to on the field, 198 have accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
“All of what we do is not because we like to work,” said Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptists state disaster relief director. “But it’s to open the door to the Gospel.”
McMillan voiced appreciation for the volunteers and others who have given more than $632,000 to flood relief efforts.
“Thank you for your help,” he said. “Thank you for giving. I’ve never been more proud of being a part of an organization as I am the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Convention and especially the missions and ministries team of the LBC.”
ENTITIES REPORT
Leading the reports from the four entities, Will Hall, director of the LBC Office of Public Policy and editor of The Baptist Message, told board members about growth in paid subscriptions for the print edition of the state newspaper, showed them the revamped design and functions of the website, and highlighted the news services’ 2016 coverage.
Hall said the Message continued to “focus on the cooperative ministries” of Louisiana Baptists, with special “emphasis on evangelism and soul-winning.”
“We also had occasion to cover a number of emerging issues, events and developments,” he said, with particular attention to the March and August floods and “Louisiana Baptists’ extraordinary response.”
“Our goal is to share this news in the context of God’s prevailing grace and glory – especially His ability to take what might appear as evil and use it for good,” Hall shared, “even for the transformation of someone’s heart.”
Hall said his team covered a number of other issues important to Louisiana Baptists, including the SBC presidential contest, changes at the International Mission Board and controversy among national leaders relating to the U.S. presidential race.
“But perhaps the overall focus of our ministry for 2016 is best represented by the headline of a special package of stories we published in the August 11 edition,” he said. “3,202 Saved in Brazil!”
Hall also shared a number of successes by the Office of Public Policy with the state legislature, including engaging Louisiana Baptists’ to influence the election of a conservative Speaker of the House.
He also praised Rep. Mike Johnson, Rep. Frank Hoffman and Sen. Ryan Gatti, all members of Louisiana Baptist churches, for championing legislation to protect unborn children from dismemberment; prevent state funds from going to abortion clinics for any purpose; and, prohibit profiteering from the harvesting of body parts from the unborn, respectively.
Hall said HB1019, authored by Rep. Rick Edmonds, a retired Louisiana Baptist pastor, was particularly special to him.
Known as “Jacob’s Law,” after Hall’s youngest son who has Down’s syndrome and testified on the measure before the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees, this legislation protects unborn children from being targeted for abortion because of the pre-natal diagnosis of a disability.
Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home Executive Director Perry Hancock said this year the ministry has served more than 4,400 children and families, including more than 200 children and mothers in residential ministries, 1,500 individuals through its Granberry Counseling Centers and 1,200 women served through the mobile pregnancy care clinic.
He also said that this year, at least 180 of those they served accepted Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
“All of these numbers represent precious people God loves. Thank you Louisiana Baptists for helping us touch each life,” Hancock said.
Louisiana Baptist Foundation Executive Director Wayne Taylor reminded board members in his report they can use a variety of “tax wise” methods of giving that benefit a ministry of their choice. Taylor encouraged them to enter the monthly Give-A-Gift drawing, which gives away $1,000 to the Louisiana Baptist church or ministry of the winner’s choice. More information can be found at http://www.lbfinfo.org/give_a_gift/.
While on the foundation website, users can also give toward ongoing flood disaster relief efforts.
He said the foundation has managed more than $165 million of Louisiana Baptist funds since its inception.
“We want you to think about the foundation anytime an opportunity to give comes up,” he said. “We’re here to assist you.”
“When people see God at work, they want to support that,” he continued. “When they do, they can support it in big ways particularly through estate planning.”
In his report, Louisiana College President Rick Brewer said the college saw a 14.5 percent increase of new incoming students this year, with 255 new freshmen and 61 transfer students enrolling for the fall semester. He said LC must enroll at least 400 new students next year to be on solid financial footing and is optimistic they can reach that number in the fall of 2017.
He encouraged board members to send their students to LC’s preview day on Oct. 8 and attend a Values and Ethics Conference Oct. 10-11.
PRESIDENT REMARKS
Spinney closed the meeting with a challenge to get ready for the harvest.
Citing John 4:27-38, Spinney cautioned pastors not to focus so much on the size of the church budget or how many people they have baptized, but rather to keep their sights set on the Gospel.
“We need to meet people’s needs with good works,” he said. “But the main purpose is to give the good news. That’s what Christ has commissioned us to do. That’s what you and I are to do in this world.”
He said God has placed believers in this world for one purpose – to share Christ.
“Lift up your eyes because the fields are white, they are ready for the harvest,” he said.
