*This story was updated under the “Funding Plan” subhead below at 3:07 p.m. CT. The original version posted at 5 a.m., and two other minor edits for clarification purposes took place around 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
**At 3:25 p.m. CT, The Baptist Paper received an email with a statement from Send Relief leaders noting the funds available to ARITF would not be used to fund an organization outside the SBC. See the “Funding Plan” and “Send Relief response” sections below for context. The full statement can be read on Baptist Press’ site here.
The incorporation papers for Abuse Response Commission — a new 501(C)(3) organization — are prepped and ready to be submitted in South Carolina.
With ARC comes a permanent home for abuse reform in the SBC, according to members of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force participating in a Feb. 20 news conference in Nashville. ARC is not a Southern Baptist entity and not part of the Cooperative Program allocation structure.
ARITF chair and North Carolina pastor Josh Wester also shared the information the night before during the opening session of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s February trustee meeting.
‘Only viable path’
“After painstakingly evaluating and exhausting every option, there is broad agreement that the best way to accomplish [our goals] is through an independent organization,” Wester said. [Read more…]