$290 million budget a 'God-sized' challenge, IMB trustees told
DALLAS (BP)--Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board adopted a $290.1 million budget for 2003 during an Oct. 31-Nov. 3 meeting in Dallas that included the appointment of 95 new missionaries -- the second-largest group of long-term workers ever appointed in a single service.
Trustees also announced their personal pledges to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, passed resolutions of appreciation for two missionaries who died in service, were told about a new partnership to speed up Bible translation and heard President Jerry Rankin challenge myths about the IMB that are being spread in some Southern Baptist circles.
While the 2003 Fiscal Resources Strategy Plan is the board's largest budget ever, it also represents a serious tightening of expenditures to free every possible dollar for support of the rapidly growing number of new missionaries, said David Steverson, IMB vice president for finance.
The basic budget of $268.8 million represents an increase of $5.89 million over 2002; the $21.3 million challenge budget represents an increase of $4.3 million.
The budget anticipates a $6.5 million increase in giving through the Cooperative Program, the Southern Baptist Convention's unified budget. It also plans for a $21.3 million increase in Lottie Moon Christmas Offering receipts.
Those numbers represent "a God-sized challenge" for Southern Baptists because gifts from Southern Baptist churches are not keeping pace with the amazing numbers of people answering God's call to overseas missionary service, Rankin said.
"It is very, very challenging to match the unprecedented growth we are experiencing in the missionary force and new opportunities we are having around the world with the giving patterns of Southern Baptists and the Lottie Moon offering falling short of its goal in 2001," he said.
The record $113.7 million Southern Baptists gave to the offering in 2001 fell short of the $120 million goal. The offering's basic goal this year is $125 million, with a challenge goal of $10 million. Offering receipts will have to increase 18.7 percent ($21.3 million) to meet the need created by the surge of new missionaries.
On top of that, the budget provides for a net increase of only 150 new missionaries in 2003, but IMB leaders expect that number to be 400 or more, said IMB Executive Vice President John White.
"The financial challenge we face this next year causes us to recognize our absolute and total dependence on God," White told trustees. "But we are confident God will provide through Southern Baptists what we need when we need it, not sooner than we need it but not later either."
The 2003 financial plan is a "faith projection," Rankin said.
"We find ourselves for the first time having to consider restricting the flow of missionaries to the field because Southern Baptist giving has not been growing as quickly as Southern Baptist going," he said.
"But we are pressing on in faith, trusting that when we are obedient to answer God's call to missions, he will be faithful to give Southern Baptists a vision for providing the financial resources we need."
'IT BEGINS WITH US'
Trustees heard a report that employees in the board's Richmond, Va., home office had pledged $164,719 to the Lottie Moon offering, an average gift of $455 each. Trustees responded by making their own pledges on the spot, totaling $64,875, an average of $954 each.
"It was a thrill to see the Richmond staff, from the lowest salary band to the highest, commit nearly $165,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering," said Billy Hoffman, the IMB's director of development. "And it was exciting to see God move among the trustees to promote generous giving too."
Spread out among the 6.4 million families of the whole Southern Baptist Convention, the average gift to the 2001 Lottie Moon offering was $17.76, Hoffman said.
"If the 6.4 million families in Southern Baptist churches follow the example of the IMB staff, the 2002 offering will total more than $2.9 billion dollars," he added. "If they follow the trustees' example, it will reach $6.1 billion -- almost 50 times the goal. Can you imagine the unreached people groups that kind of offering would touch?
"Since 9/11, all Southern Baptists need to rethink their commitment to international missions," he added. "The world will not be improved with political or military solutions. We must provide the resources to fund the biblical strategy to share the good news of Christ with all peoples."
The climax of the trustee meeting was the appointment of 95 new missionaries in a Sunday evening service at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.
The new workers were the second-largest group in the board's 157-year history -- the largest group being the 118 appointed a year earlier in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. And four of the next five largest appointment services rank among the 10 largest in IMB history.
The astounding growth in career missionary appointments is directly related to the large numbers of Southern Baptists serving in shorter-term assignments, said Lloyd Atkinson, vice president for mission personnel.
"Much of the unprecedented growth in appointments is the result of God calling many to long-term service while they are serving for two or three years in the International Service Corps, Journeymen and Masters programs," he said. "In fact, 51 percent of those appointed in the service had already served with the IMB for at least two years."
BIBLE PARTNERS
The International Mission Board is moving to a higher level of partnership with Wycliffe International, which has about 5,000 missionaries working on Bible translation projects in more than 1,400 languages, trustees learned.
The new missions partnership could accelerate by 100 years the translation of the Bible for the estimated 1 billion people who still do not have God's Word in their own language.
About 3,000 language groups have no access at all to the good news of God's love. At the current pace, translations for all of them could not be completed until 2150, Wycliffe Executive Director John Watters told the trustees.
"We have been asking ourselves what would it take to give every language community some access to God's Word by 2050," Watters said. "That would cut 100 years off the translation process that's already going on.
"That's overwhelming. In fact, we recognize it is impossible for us. But it is not impossible for the Lord of the harvest. That's why partnership is critical. That's why we've been talking with the IMB about ways to effectively and cooperatively work together for the glory of God."
Under the new plan, the IMB will appoint missionaries to fill needs for translators, share more information about church planting and translation projects and coordinate strategies for taking the gospel to unreached people groups.
DISPELLING MYTHS
Communicating the truth about IMB missions strategies and what God is doing through Southern Baptist missionaries is difficult in a world of self-serving spin, media distortions and Internet myths, Rankin told the trustees during his president's report.
"Whether information is deliberately distorted or not, we live in an environment in which myths often take on a life of their own," he said. "The philosopher William James said, 'Nothing is so absurd that, if repeated often enough, will be believed by the masses.'"
Rankin spoke to five falsehoods about the International Mission Board that are making the rounds in Southern Baptist circles.
"Some of these myths have been and continue to be repeated to the point that they are believed, often very innocently by those who are gullible to believe whatever they hear, but also by others who seem to have little interest in the truth," he said. "It is regrettable that some prefer to hold to distorted perceptions when it seems to serve their presuppositions, even when evidence to the contrary is presented.
"I will not presume to attribute motives to publications and individuals that propagate these and other myths," Rankin said. "I would like to think it is simply due to ignorance rather than to any self-serving purpose of disseminating misinformation.
"Perhaps William James was right ... but God has given us a passion for bringing all the peoples of the world to saving faith in Christ, and we will continue to be driven by that vision and share with truth and integrity what God is doing through the IMB."
(The list of the five myths and the full text of Rankin's replies follow in a separate article and are available online from the IMB at http://www.imb.org/learn/news/story.asp?id=846.)
APPRECIATION
In other business, trustees adopted resolutions of appreciation for two missionaries who died in service.
The resolutions expressed "deep appreciation for faithful service to God through this board" and pledged "special prayer support for the family during the days ahead."
One resolution was adopted for R. Lee Pursley, 39, a missionary videographer who died July 20. A native of Atlanta, Pursley is survived by his wife, Nancy, and their two children, Kathryn, 4, and Matthew, 10 months.
The second resolution praised a missionary who served as the strategy coordinator for one of the world's toughest-to-reach people groups. The missionary, who died unexpectedly this past summer at age 60, was not named publicly because of security concerns.
The trustees also learned about the release of $1.3 million that funded 59 hunger and general relief projects that included emergency food packets, aid for malnourished mothers and children, agriculture training, seed packets, materials for house reconstruction, job skills training for refugees and water purification. Hunger and relief projects are funded by gifts from Southern Baptist churches. Every dollar given goes 100 percent to ministry expenses.
In personnel matters, trustees approved the transfer of four missionary units (eight people) to new fields and longevity salary increases for two units (four people). They granted emeritus status to two missionaries: Rosanne Branan, who has served 32 years in the Philippines, and Alma Rohm, who has served 53 years in Nigeria.
Trustees also voted to accept the resignations of 19 missionary units (32 people) and terminated three missionaries.
Three of the unit resignations cited the board's request last January that they affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message as a factor in the decision to resign. That brings the total of BF&M-related resignations to 16 units (32 people). A total of 5,480 missionaries currently are serving through the International Mission Board.
The next meeting of the IMB trustees will be Jan. 23-25 in Phoenix. A missionary appointment service will be held Jan. 24 at North Phoenix Baptist Church.
