DALLAS (ABP) — All five Baptist General Convention of Texas employees with North American Mission Board appointments will end those relationships with the Southern Baptist Convention agency and become fully supported by the Texas convention by the end of the year.
The change allows those staff members to focus on their BGCT assignments without having to deal with NAMB requirements, said E. B. Brooks, coordinator of the BGCT church missions and evangelism section.
Many of the employees counted as missionaries by the North American Mission Board are in jointly funded positions on state convention staffs nationwide.
“We are grateful to the Home Mission Board, predecessor of the North American Mission Board, for their assistance in enlarging the BGCT church-starting and community-ministries staffs,” Brooks said.
The move is the first decision from a BGCT committee to monitor the effectiveness of the 2003 BGCT-NAMB cooperative agreement. Brooks said the move to fully support those employees has been discussed for several years, but leaders were waiting for the cooperative agreement to be signed and BGCT funds to become available.
Baptist General Convention of Texas employees with NAMB appointments are Dexton Shores, director of river ministry; Patty Villarreal, consultant for the missions equipping center; Patty Lane, director of intercultural initiatives; Jim Young, director of the missions equipping center; and David Guel, consultant with the church multiplication center.
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