FINANCIAL OPTIONS FOR TEXAS BAPTIST CHURCHES

The TBC office has received many phone calls from Texas churches asking exactly what are the options regarding the giving of their money to worldwide causes. We have chosen to respond by printing the various budget options available to Texas Baptists.

On page 2 in this newsletter is the SBC budget and the three budget options of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We also have a “Design Your Own Budget” form on page 18. We are going to explain each budget option. We are not recommending any specific way of giving, for in Baptist polity, that is totally up to the local church. We just feel that you should be aware of your options.

Option #1 - SBC: Currently 36.65% of your cooperative mission funds are given to the SBC. Unless you inform Roger Hall, BGCT treasurer, that you prefer something different than this, your money automatically goes this way. We will be frank regarding this budget. It supports the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC. In our opinion, the only Texas churches who should be sending money through this option are churches who support the fundamentalist direction of the SBC. All funds given count as Cooperative Program gifts.

Option #2 - SBC with Exclusions: This option allows churches to protest certain aspects of fundamentalist control of the SBC. A BGCT cooperating church may exclude up to five (5) line items from their CBF gifts. There are 20 line items in the Cooperative Program budget (each seminary counts as one line item). If you exclude up to five line items, your money is reallocated among remaining line items. All your money goes to the SBC and is counted as CBF gifts. You are simply excluding up to five programs or institutions you do not wish to support. You must inform the BGCT treasurer in writing to exercise this option.

Option #3 - Cooperative Baptist Fellowship budgets: CBF has three giving programs. They are designed to respond to the different needs of churches. Note: You may select any of these three program and inform Roger Hall, BGCT treasurer, and the BGCT will send your gift to CBF. Gifts will not count as Cooperative Program gifts, even if money goes on to SBC agencies. The gifts will officially count as “designated gifts.”

Vision 2000 Plan: Under this plan, all your worldwide gifts remain with CBF. 72% of your gifts are used for missions under this plan. Another 3% goes to Truett Seminary at Baylor.

Ventures Plan: This plan is designed for the church or individual who still wants to support SBC missionaries and seminaries and little else of the SBC. 58% of money remains with CBF and 42% goes to SBC causes. With this plan, 70% of money also goes to missions, with CBF using 35% for missions, the SBC Foreign Mission Board receiving 30% and the Home Mission Board 5%. In regard to seminary education (for example), Truett gets 1% as does Golden Gate, Midwestern, and New Orleans. No money goes to Southeastern.

Transition Plan: Under this plan, the majority of your money still goes to SBC causes. CBF keeps only 17.6% and the SBC gets 82.4%. As stated above, YOU CAN send funds this way through the BGCT. You may also choose to send your BGCT gifts to Dallas and say “Texas only” and send these funds to CBF in Atlanta. CBF will distribute them as you request. Or you can send all your funds to CBF and request that they send 63.35% (or whatever %) back to Texas.

Option #4 - Design Your Own Budget: This idea is for the church who truly wants to exercise their Baptist polity. A Baptist church historically has chosen at the local church level to give however and to whomever it chooses.

With this budget approach, you can decide the percentage you want to give to causes outside the BGCT budget and you can decide exactly where you want the money to go. You may notify Roger Hall, BGCT treasurer, of your plan, in writing, and the BGCT will follow your churches request.

For example, you could change your percentages to 70% BGCT and 30% worldwide causes. Then of that 30% that goes beyond Texas you could send 5% to Truett Seminary, 25% to the SBC Foreign Mission Board, 5% to the SBC Home Mission Board, 40% to CBF Global Missions, 5% to the Baptist Joint Committee, 2% to Associated Baptist Press, .02% to the Annuity Board, 3% to CBF Ethics and Public Policy, 4% to CBF literature development, 4% to CBF operations, 2% to the Baptist World Alliance, .02% to the SBC Historical Commission, .02% to the SBC Education Commission, .04 % to the Brotherhood Commission, and the remaining 4% to something else like ethics agencies.

The point is, you can send your money as you choose.

Option #5 - Texas only: Of course, any BGCT church can send their mission money and request all of it remain in Texas. Currently this money WOULD NOT count as Cooperative Program gifts. It would count as “designated gifts” although all of it was used to support the

BGCT budget.

FINAL QUESTIONS REGARDING MAINTAINING THE RIGHT TO VOTE AT A SBC MEETING. We get many calls from churches wanting to stop fully supporting the SBC but who yet want to remain affiliated with the SBC and retain the opportunity to send messengers to a SBC convention.

In the past, if a church has given $2,500 to Lottie Moon or Annie Armstrong offerings, they have been allowed to send 10 messengers.

Another way to guarantee 10 messengers is to send $2,500 to the Cooperative Program in Dallas. The BGCT will keep 63.35% and send the remainder to the SBC.

Of course, any $2,500 sent directly to an SBC agency (FMB, HMB, etc.) will retain you your messenger rights.

NOWHERE IN THE SBC CONSTITUTION DOES THE TERM COOPERATIVE PROGRAM APPEAR. A COOPERATING CHURCH, BY DEFINITION, IS ONE THAT CONTRIBUTES TO SBC CAUSES, NOT THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM.

Click here for Giving Plans

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