JACKSON, Miss. (ABP) — Messengers from the Mississippi Baptist Convention's 2,114 churches approved without opposition a record Cooperative Program budget of more than $33 million during their annual meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
The $33,188,934-budget for 2007 represents an almost six-percent increase over the current budget and will result in $11,616,127 going to SBC causes. The SBC percentage, which has held steady for several years, is a 5.99 percent dollar-for-dollar increase over the current year.
Previously, messengers had chosen to freeze the 2006 Cooperative Program budget at the same level as 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina, but recovery and rebuilding efforts are well underway and messengers said they wanted to signal a new giving goal.
Messengers also voted to permanently close the convention's multi-million-dollar Gulfshore Baptist Assembly near Pass Christian and sell the property. It was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Larry Otis, chairman of the committee charged with evaluating the facility, told messengers that rebuilding estimates of more than $46 million, strict new building codes, and post-Katrina insurance rates of over one million dollars per year helped convince the committee to not restore the Gulfshore building.
“After prayerful deliberation and analysis of conference ministry needs in Mississippi and the existing conditions at the Gulfshore Baptist Assembly site … [we recommend] that the Mississippi Baptist Convention relocate our primary conference facilities and offer the coastal property for sale, with proceeds made available for acquisition of a new site, design of facilities, and/or construction of conference facilities,” Otis said. “Furthermore, we recommend that the implementation of this recommendation be entrusted to the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board.”
Messengers voted 587-29 to accept the committee's recommendation.
In other business, messengers elected Clarence Cooper, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Grenada, Miss., to a second term as convention president. Joel Medina, pastor of Iglesia Internacional Las Americas in Carthage, Miss., was elected to serve a second term as first vice president. David Hamilton, pastor of West Heights Baptist Church in Pontotoc, Miss., was elected to a first term as second vice president.
All officers were elected without opposition.
Messengers also approved five resolutions, including support for the Mississippi Baptist Memorial to the Missing, designed to draw attention to 50 million babies lost since abortion was legalized in 1973; commendation for Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., for producing the Christian movie Facing the Giants; appreciation for the Conference Ministries Study Committee for their report on the future of conference ministries and Gulfshore; and appreciation to First Baptist Church in Jackson for hosting the 2006 annual meeting.
A total of 1,126 messengers registered for the 2006 meeting, up slightly from the 1,110 who registered for the 2005 meeting. The 2007 annual meeting of the Mississippi Baptist Convention will be held Oct. 30-31 at First Baptist Church in Jackson.
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