Daniel Dickard, president of the 2023 Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference, speaks Sunday night in New Orleans. — Photo by Sam Evans / The Baptist Paper
— The officers of the 2023 Southern Baptist Pastors Conference have partnered with the Southern Baptist Foundation to create an endowment that will allow the event to fund itself in the future, said Daniel Dickard, president of this year’s Pastors Conference.
Dickard, pastor of Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, spoke briefly about the endowment between messages at the conference in New Orleans. A video explaining the fund is also posted at sbcpc.net/endowment.
Currently, Pastors Conference officers are required to raise the funds needed to put on the event each year.
“We think there is a better way to raise money and thus ensure the long-term health of the Pastors Conference, an event we have all come to love and appreciate,” Dickard said in the video posted online. “Rather than the conference president and his officers spending the majority of their time fundraising each year, we think it would be beneficial to raise money through an endowment and let the conference indefinitely pay for itself each year, based on interest earnings.”
In New Orleans, Dickard said the officers believe any God-called, biblically qualified pastor ought to be able to put his name forward as Pastors Conference president, regardless of his church’s size or budget. He encouraged churches to consider giving to the endowment for three consecutive years so the fund has an opportunity to grow.
“The Southern Baptist Pastors Conference has blessed generations of pastors, and we want to see that moving forward.” B&R
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article is part of the team coverage of Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting and Executive Committee events by staff members from The Baptist Record, Baptist & Reflector, Baptist Message, Illinois Baptist State Association, The Alabama Baptist and The Baptist Paper.
