Messengers show their ballots at the 2024 Summit on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Murfreesboro. — Photo by David Dawson
MURFREESBORO — Tennessee Baptist Convention messengers adopted a $35 million for 2024-25, not a surprise since this will be the sixth consecutive year that the budget has remained the same.
What’s new is a change in how CP gifts will be distributed between the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.
Daniel Jerkins, pastor of Hickory Withe First Baptist Church, Eads, and chair of TBMB’s Budget and Ministry Committee, presented the Cooperative Program budget recommendation.
“The proposed CP allocation goal for next year is $35 million with the first $800,000 committed to Cooperative Program Promotion and Administration,” Jerkins said during the Tuesday business session of this year’s Summit, held at the Murfreesboro convention center.
Jerkins cited three issues the committee dealt with while making the recommendation.
• Cooperative Program giving has been consistently between $34 and $35 million for the last 10 years. Adjusted for inflation over those 10 years, usable income has dropped by 24 percent.
• TBC messengers have consistently expressed a desire to move towards an equal distribution between SBC and TBMB causes
so that more funds can go to reaching the nations through the International Mission Board.
“In an effort to deal with each of these issues, the Board is recommending a change in the CP allocation for the new year,” Jerkins said.
“In the new structure, 40 percent will be allocated to the SBC, in which the IMB receives 50.41 percent of those funds,” he continued, adding that the TBC will allocate an additional 5 percent to the IMB.
Messengers at this year’s Summit approved the budget, the Acts 2:17 Report and a variety of other items during the business sessions of the event, held Nov. 11-12 in Murfreesboro. — Photo by Samantha Bligh
During the last budget year, 47.5 percent went toward SBC causes while 52.5 percent remained in Tennessee for mission and ministry needs.
“With this additional percentage to the IMB, our missionaries working to reach the unreached with the gospel will receive the same amount of funding that they would if the TBC sent 50 percent to the SBC,” Jerkins said.
“This formula allocates more dollars for reaching the nations than ever before in the history of the TBC,” he added.
Overall, the SBC allocation will be reduced from 47.5 percent to 45 percent with 55 percent remaining allocated for TBC causes.
Any amendment to the budget had to be made after the presentation, Hardwick told messengers.
Steve Freeman, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Springfield, moved that the 5 percent for the IMB be eliminated and proposed a distribution of 55 percent to the TBC and 45 percent to the SBC.
The motion was referred to TBMB for assignment to the Budget and Ministry Committee for analysis and report to the convention on Tuesday for discussion and vote, Hardwick told messengers.
Jerkins returned to the podium the following day and informed messengers the matter was in their hands.
“We take no position,” he said. “Our desire is to reflect the desires of messengers. That was our original intent and that is why we are pleased with it to come to the floor (of the convention) for a vote.”
Freeman spoke in favor of his amendment. Noting that sending 5 percent directly to the International Mission Board would hurt the other SBC entities, including the seminaries. “We don’t need to take anymore mission dollars from our seminaries,” he said.
Jamie Work, a messenger from Candies Creek Baptist Church, Charleston, spoke in favor of the original recommendation. “Lostness is real,” he said, adding that the extra funds would put nine to 10 more missionaries on the field.
The pros and cons were debated back and forth for several minutes. A call for the question failed as messengers wanted more time for discussion. At least three messengers said they did not like either option as they favored moving toward a 50-50 distribution of funds.
The question was called once more and messengers voted for or against the amendment.
At the time of the vote on the amended budget, there were 1,014 registered messengers with 613 ballots cast. The amendment passed with 321 votes (52.4 percent) with 292 votes against the amendment (47.6 percent).
After the totals were announced, messengers spoke in favor or against the amended budget. Messenger Todd Ozment of Mount Horeb Baptist Church, Ethridge, asked what would happen if the amendment failed.
TBC president responded that the directors of TBMB would make the decision, a response confirmed by William Maxwell, TBMB chief administrative officer.
Lisa Anderson, a member of the committee and a messenger from First Baptist Church, Hohenwald, reminded messengers that the Budget and Ministry Committee was agreeable with either option.
“We need to vote on the budget,” she said, adding that if churches would step up their giving through the Cooperative Program, “we wouldn’t be having these discussions.”
After a motion to call for the question, messengers overwhelmingly affirmed the budget by a show of ballots with limited opposition. B&R
