Stormy economic times were the theme of the day as the Executive Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention met April 14 at White Oak Conference Center. Board members were reminded, however, that the future is far from bleak, because God is in control.
In his report to the Executive Board, Convention Executive Director Dr. Jim Austin encouraged South Carolina Baptist churches to seize this critical moment in time to offer help to others. “Hopefully, we will be able to look back on this time and say, in the words of Winston Churchill, ‘This was our finest hour,’” Austin said.
Helping others, however, will be much more challenging over the next several years in view of the current economic conditions, reports indicated. Many convention entities and agencies depend heavily on investment returns to meet their yearly budgets, and those returns have fallen far short of expectations over the last several months. The Richard Furman Scholarship Fund, for instance, produced only $34,148 over the past year, making it necessary for the Convention's Budget and Finance Committee to allocate an extra $50,000 to cover the shortfall so that deserving students could still be provided with significant scholarship amounts.
Connie Maxwell Children's Home and the Baptist Courier are also on the list of agencies hard hit by the economic downturn. In the past, Connie Maxwell has depended upon 40 percent of its operating budget to be paid for by investment income. That won't happen this year, next year, or even the next, according to children’s home President Dr. Ben Davis. "We're tightening our belts and we trust that God will provide all necessities," Davis said.
Baptist Courier Editor Don Kirkland reported that a challenging era looms for his publication, due not only to investment losses but also to the fact that the newspaper industry as a whole has fallen on hard times of late. Kirkland said advertisements in the paper have decreased, postage and printing costs have increased, and an ever-growing number of people have migrated to the Internet for their news. "In a culture of free, people don't expect to pay for what they get on-line," Kirkland said. Courier staff members are working to come up with an economic model to combat this trend, and in the meantime, Kirkland said he is confident that the Lord will provide. "As long as there is purpose in what we do, God will sustain it," he said.
While it is fair to say that all South Carolina Baptist Convention departments and agencies are feeling the effects of reduced funding, some have been able to cope better than others. Baptist Foundation President Weldon Fallaw told board members that he has never seen economic times like these in his 27 years of service, but that a spending policy developed several years ago has provided a steady stream of income for Foundation accounts. "Not all accounts have provided full distributions, but it is a blessing that we had policies in place that helped us make a distribution to all entities of the foundation," he said. All things considered, Fallaw reported that the Foundation had a “fairly good year.” As of December 2008, the agency had distributed 1.5 million to Baptist causes, and over 1 million to individuals with trust funds, according to Fallaw. The Foundation also awarded more than $50,000 in grants in 2008, including surprise grants awarded to Baptist universities, and more than $18,000 in scholarships.
While all South Carolina Baptist Convention agencies and departments remain upbeat and confident that God will provide for all needs, proactive measures are being taken to meet the economic challenges head-on. Austin announced that an economic summit called the Recession Obsession will be held in May at Northside Baptist Church in West Columbia that will focus on teaching churches how to minister in tough economic times. GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins will be a keynote speaker, which Austin says will seek to help churches seize the moment and capitalize on opportunities to minister to their communities.
On the state level, reports stated that spending is being reduced at the convention office, and that staff members are doing the best they can to be good stewards of God’s money. The Convention Staff Compensation Study Committee reported that no full-time employee needs to have his or her job terminated, or salary reduced, in response to the tough economy. Adjustments may, however, have to be made among contract workers or part-time employees, the committee said.
Financial woes notwithstanding, South Carolina Baptists are moving forward with many exciting projects centered around the Empowering Kingdom Life emphasis. Austin reported that plans are in the works for Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt to hold a meeting in the state concerning his Timothy/Barnabas mentoring initiative. The meeting could take place as early as late August, Austin said, and anyone interested should let him know.
Austin also reported that great strides are being made in the area of church revitalization with the convention’s new CHAMPS initiative. CHAMPS, which stands for Church Health Assessment and Mobilization Planning Strategy, is a program designed to mentor and develop leaders to help churches focus on their strengths and move forward in ministry. The program, headed up by Don Matthews, already has about 50 churches involved and continues to grow.
Another step forward was reported when Austin announced that the convention will place a Baptist Campus Ministry leader on campus at one of the state’s historically black colleges this fall. “We must be proactive and strategically focus on reaching minorities,” Austin said.
