DALLAS (ABP) — An attorney will guide an investigation into alleged mishandling of Texas Baptist money to start churches in the Rio Grande Valley.
Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, has asked the convention's elected officers to hire an attorney to head the probe. The investigation focuses on how church-starting funds were used from 1996 to 2003 in Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association and what is now the Borderlands Baptist Association.
The amount of money in question is unknown at this point but will be determined early in the investigation, Wade said.
Suspicions surround the large number of cell-group missions reported as church-starts in the lower Rio Grande Valley from 1996 to 2003. Critics allege some church-starts that received financial assistance from the BGCT never existed, and some individuals profited by claiming to start multiple, nonexistent “mystery missions.”
In 1996, the convention listed 92 churches and 38 missions in Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association. By 2003, the number grew to 105 churches and 240 missions in the association. Of those 240 missions, 151 listed as their sponsors six of the 10 churches that formed the Borderlands Baptist Association the following year. Listing as a mission does not necessarily mean a congregation received BGCT funding.
Questions about improprieties regarding church-starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley initially surfaced about five years ago.
“Dr. Wade consulted with BGCT staff and concluded at that time that there was no need for an investigation,” a statement issued by the BGCT said. “In December 2005, new information came to Dr. Wade's attention that prompted another round of internal investigation. He and other BGCT executive leaders then determined that an independent, outside investigation was needed.”
In an interview, Wade explained he made two or three trips to the Valley when the questions first arose specifically to “get to the bottom” of the allegations, and he received what he believed were reasonable answers from trusted sources.
But last year, after the BGCT annual meeting in Austin, allegations “kept bubbling up,” Wade said. In addition to renewed concerns expressed by Texas Baptists in the Valley, questions raised by Mexican Baptist leaders about some church-starting practices prompted his desire for further inquiry.
Initially, Wade enlisted Mike Steiger, a certified public accountant from Arlington, to conduct a financial investigation. Steiger offered his services as a volunteer. But Steiger and convention officials concluded “the time frame and the complexity of the issues pointed to the need to engage legal counsel to guide the effort,” the BGCT statement said.
Fowler and Executive Board Vice Chair Jim Nelson of Austin, together with BGCT President Michael Bell of Fort Worth, First Vice President Steve Vernon of Levelland and Second Vice President Dan Wooldridge of Georgetown will engage an attorney to guide the investigation.
The officers are considering several lawyers, and they will make their decision prior to the May 22-23 executive board meeting, Fowler said.
“I'd like to think it will be a two- to three-month process, but we can't be certain at this point,” he said. Fowler anticipates the probe will be completed in time for the executive board to receive a report at its Sept. 25-26 meeting.
The investigation will be funded out of reserve or contingency funds, Fowler said. Money will have to be allocated by the executive board unless there is enough contingency funding in the budget, he added.
David Montoya, a pastor from Mineral Wells who has been calling for an investigation for several years, said hiring an outside attorney to guide the investigation is “a step in the right direction.” Montoya, who has used his Internet blog to lead the call for a probe, said he still would prefer to see the process led by a committee elected by the BGCT executive board.
“It seems to me that it is still being managed by a few rather than being openly dealt with,” he said. “We need complete openness now. This has been managed for damage control for too long. Texas Baptists deserve answers.”
The BGCT normally funds a church start through a cooperative agreement between the convention, an association of churches and a sponsoring congregation. The BGCT' started 191 congregations last year.
“The BGCT has always functioned in a transparent financial environment resulting in a high level of confidence in the integrity of the organization and its leaders,” Wade said. “We are committed to making sure this continues.”
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