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 6 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.
Messengers also approved resolutions, including support for the Mississippi Baptist Memorial to the Missing, designed to draw attention to 50 million babies it claims were vicitims of abortion since it was legalized in 1973.
Associated Baptist Press