Baptist Press
Jeremy Westbrook, outgoing president of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio and pastor of Living Hope Church in Marysville, delivers his address during the SBCO’s Nov. 2 annual meeting in Vandalia.
NASHVILLE — Ohio Baptists approved the largest increase in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts sent beyond the state next year, moving from the current 59.75/40.25 ratio to a 50/50 split.
“Supporting missions from Ohio to the ends of the earth is the heartbeat of Ohio Southern Baptists,” said Ohio Executive Director Jack Kwok in praising the decision.
The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO) joins four other conventions that forward half or more to the Southern Baptist Convention, without a “shared ministry” calculation, including the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (55/45), Florida (51/49), Iowa (50/50) and Nevada (50/50).
In addition to the SCBO, conventions where increases of more than 1 percent were reported include Arizona, Colorado, the Dakotas, Kansas-Nebraska, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Missouri, New Mexico, and Tennessee.
State conventions in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland/Delaware, Michigan, Mississippi, New England, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania/South Jersey, and Utah/Idaho voted to increase the SBC portion in amounts ranging from .10 to 1 percent.
Louisiana messengers overwhelmingly defeated a motion from a messenger seeking a 2018 move toward a 50/50 CP split. Executive Director David Hankins spoke to the impact on in-state ministries if $2.5 million were cut from the Louisiana Baptist Convention budget and said the state convention’s Advance Plan will work to move toward a 50/50 split as in the past when income grows.
