Thoughts on Home Missions and the BGCT Budget
by Charles Davenport,
Pastor of First Baptist Church, Tulia
and First Vice-President of the BGCT

There have been many questions and some criticism of the proposed 2 1/2% reduction in the amount of Cooperative Program funds forwarded to the SBC. It’s interesting that two pages of SBC LIFE are devoted to criticizing the Texas proposal with nothing being said about the similar actions of other state conventions.

Perhaps, A LITTLE BACKGROUND WOULD HELP. The proposal comes because of the desperate mission needs of Texas. In an effort to be generous with mission dollars outside our state (we sent 47% of all money given for missions outside our state), we have allowed Texas to become a vast mission field. Folks, we have more unchurched people in Texas than the entire population of 42 of the 50 states in the USA.

Our church ratio to population has steadily decreased. We have 24 churches per 100,000 population while states like Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina average about 57 churches per 100,000 population, Other statistics could be shared, but these are sufficient to tell us that something must be done to reverse this trend or WE WILL LOSE TEXAS!

It was with that knowledge that a committee was established to work with the Home Mission Board to respond to these mission needs in Texas. It was felt that funds to meet these needs should come from the $10,000,000 Texas contributes to the HBM each year and not from other SBC agencies. However, despite efforts to work out a mutually acceptable plan to allow Texas to respond to its own mission needs, the Home Mission Board offered only token assistance. We need $1,500,000 and they offered about $100,000.

Therefore, the only avenue left was to alter the percentage forwarded from Texas Baptists to the SBC. And, the funds retained in Texas as a result of this change are committed to starting 300 new churches in our state each year.

In spite of the apparent needs and the worthy motive for the change, the action has been questioned. SOME HAVE ASKED… WHAT ABOUT OUR HOME MISSIONARIES?

The HMB reports 4913 home missionaries. However, in a September 27th letter in the Baptist Standard, Dr. Larry Lewis who heads the HMB, reports that the number is around 100. You see, the larger number includes almost 1100 Mission Service Corp volunteers.

And, the remainder of those receive small supplements form the HMB in conjunction with support from their state conventions, local associations, and local congregations. And, in most instances, this supplement is minimal, often providing only their insurance. You can be certain that the home missionaries will continue to be supported by those groups that are more personally involved in their ministries.

OTHERS HAVE ASKED… WHY SHOULD WE RECEIVE ANY MONEY BACK FROM THE HOME MISSION BOARD? This was expressed in a letter in the September 2Oth issue of the Baptist Standard. The question reveals that many do not understand how the HMB funds missions. Primarily, they do it through cooperative agreements with state conventions.

It is a complicated and flawed system that needs to be changed. IT IS COMPLICATED in that no two agreements are the same. For example, Texas receives back about $.11 on the dollar while Oklahoma receives back about $.33 on the dollar.

IT IS FLAWED in that 26 of the state conventions receive back more than they give. Certainly, many of these are small, struggling state conventions that need help, but our system tends to make such state conventions subservient to the larger body.

THAT IS NOT THE BAPTIST WAY! And, recent comments concerning “weak” state conventions who will not “get in line” with SBC leadership makes one wonder if such control had not or will not be exercised. We need to get back to the BAPTIST WAY of doing missions… where our agencies are there to serve all churches, not to be used to exert control or force one opinion on all Baptists.

October 1995