Executive Board approves new budget recommendations
Budget to increase by $1.2 million
In their annual October meeting, the SC Baptist Convention Executive Board approved a recommendation from the Budget, Finance and Audit committee to implement a new method for allocating future increases in Cooperative Program budget funds called the Cooperative Program Advance Plan.
The Cooperative Program Advance Plan was first introduced at the 2006 Southern Baptist Convention in a proposal from a national Cooperative Program Task Force as a means to assist state Conventions in increasing the percentage given to the SBC. The plan would immediately allocate fifty percent of all new Convention budget increases to the Southern Baptist Convention.
The recommendation to the Executive Board provided a plan to increase the percentage of the budget given to the Southern Baptist Convention each year for the next five years.
“In our proposed plan more funds will go to the Southern Baptist Convention as churches give more through the Cooperative Program and our budget increases,” said Dennis Wilkins, chairman of the Budget, Finance and Audit committee in his report to the Executive Board.
The Budget, Finance & Audit Committee conducted an extensive study of the allocation of Cooperative Program gifts in preparing the 2008 budget recommendations. The study was prompted by a motion by Reverend Hans Wunch at the 2006 SC Baptist Convention meeting which requested the Executive Board to study moving the allocation of Cooperative Program percentages from the current sixty percent in state and forty percent to the Southern Baptist Convention to an even fifty-fifty split. The motion was not voted on by the messengers, but was referred to the Executive Board for study.
“We asked for a number of studies to be done to better prepare us for making a decision on this important matter,” said Wilkins.
Wilkins said the committee studied an analysis of Cooperative Program giving by South Carolina Baptist churches over the last 10 years. The analysis noted that while overall giving to the local church has increased on average 4.68% per year, giving through the Cooperative Program has increased only 2.73% per year indicating that churches giving through the Cooperative Program is increasing at a rate nearly half that of the local church receipts.
The analysis also showed percentages of undesignated funds churches gave through the Cooperative Program declined from 8.95% to 7.74%, a decrease of 1.21% over the last 10 years. If the percentage given by churches had remained at 8.95%, $5,100,000 more would have been given through the Cooperative Program in 2006.
“This was a very significant and alarming finding for our committee,” said Wilkins.
The committee also researched the original intent for the distribution of the Cooperative Program when it was established in 1925. When the Cooperative Program began each church was to give 50% to the state convention, and then the state would give 50% to the SBC, and the SBC would give 50% to foreign missions. In 2006 churches gave an average of 7.74% through the Cooperative Program.
The Budget, Finance and Audit committee also examined eleven other state conventions that are similar in size and age to South Carolina. South Carolina has the seventh largest budget at $32.2 million. The forty percent given by South Carolina to the Southern Baptist Convention places the state fourth overall in percentage giving to the national Convention. In dollars given to the Southern Baptist Convention, South Carolina ranked fifth.
Wilkins also reported on the funds allocated to Convention supported institutions. “Just a little over thirty percent of our budget goes to the work of our institutions in South Carolina which places us in fourth position compared to other states,” said Wilkins. This percentage is on the higher end of the scale ranging from sixteen percent to a little over thirty-two percent for other state conventions.
Similarly, the committee also considered how much money was given to support the work of the state Convention. A little less than thirty percent of the budget goes to this work which is one of the lowest percentages of any state.
“It is amazing that our state has been a leading state convention in the last decade, as we are next to last [of states considered] in the percentage given to the work of the state convention….South Carolina has managed to do more with less,” Wilkins said.
“Whatever changes we make in the percentage given to the Southern Baptist Convention, we must take care not to damage the excellent work being done in our state,” he said.
The committee also considered the financial impact of increasing the percentage given to the Southern Baptist Convention by one percent each year over the next ten years.
Using a ten year projection based on a 2.7% growth rate in receipts and an annual increase of 1% of the total budget to the Southern Baptist Convention the committee found the overall state Convention budget would grow from $32 million to $42 million and funding to the Southern Baptist Convention would increase from $12.9 million to $21.2 million or an average increase of 6.4% per year.
Using the ten year projection the committee also found the South Carolina portion of the budget would increase from $19.4 million to $21.2 million, a growth rate of only 0.9% per year.
“Increasing the percentage to SBC by 1% per year would cause significant hardship and damage to our work in South Carolina…our committee did not want to do anything that would damage our work in South Carolina,” concluded Wilkins.
Another recommendation in the budget proposal concerns any funds received beyond the budget goal of $33.95 million. The Executive Board approved an allocation of any gifts above the budget goal be allocated as follows: International Mission Board 55%; North American Mission Board 25%; and scholarships for SC Baptists participating in a missions project 20%. This recommendation will provide additional funding to our two mission boards anytime the budget is met and exceeded. Currently, money received beyond the budget is distributed 50% to the Southern Baptist Convention and 50% to the Kingdom Challenge Fund.
The proposed budget represents an increase of $1.2 million over the 2007 budget to a new total of $33.95 million. Budget funds in the first year of the Cooperative Program Advance Plan will provide 40.35% to the SBC and 59.65% for the South Carolina Baptist Convention. The budget recommendations will be presented to messengers for their consideration during the Annual Meeting in Florence, Nov. 13-14.
“We want to make a budget proposal that takes a step of faith by the state convention that churches will respond,” said Wilkins.
