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AMARILLO—Grants from year-end reserves will benefit seminary students in the West and a new Baptist college in the East following action of the Executive Board of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
Board members authorized releasing $100,000 to endow two education scholarships for African American master of divinity students at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. The awards will be made at the discretion of the seminary and honor current and former trustees, Terry Turner and E.W. McCall, both of Texas.
Turner joined five families in planting Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church, which has grown to more than 2,100 members. He just completed two terms as SBTC president. McCall, an SBTC consultant, pastored St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church in La Puente, Calif., which grew from 35 to more than 4,000 members during his 37-year tenure. At his retirement McCall returned to his native state.
At the request of the Baptist Convention of New England, the SBTC board authorized $20,000 to purchase new furniture and equipment for the Northeastern Baptist College, a newly formed school in Bennington, Vt.
The board also approved from reserve funds a grant of $250,000 to the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation to supplement the budget of the eight-year-old foundation, and up to $100,000 to cover any line-item overages not covered by operations and contingency funds. Additional funding from reserves will serve to refurbish the SBTC office in Grapevine that has been utilized since 2004 and provide year-end Christmas bonuses for staff.
Twenty-five new requests from churches seeking affiliation with the SBTC were approved as the convention continues to grow. The number of affiliated churches stood at 2,442 with 13 removed, 11 of which had disbanded and two that became independent or exclusively related to other groups.
Chief Financial Officer Joe Davis reported that Cooperative Program receipts are $723,276 ahead of 2012 receipts with a net operating income of $1,134,175 through September.
Contributions from SBTC churches to both Southern Baptist mission offerings were higher this year with giving through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions reporting $2,263,093 for the first nine months of the year, while giving through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions stood at $544,649 for the four months since June. Giving through the Reach Texas Offering for state missions was slightly lower than last year at $27,005 for the first month of reporting.
Ministry relationships with Houston Baptist University and East Texas Baptist Family Ministries were extended through 2014. ETBFM, an affiliated ministry that received budgeted funds, will receive .75 percent of annual in-state Cooperative Program budgeted receipts.
Newly elected board officers are Chairman Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Vice Chairman David Fleming, pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, and Secretary Paul Garcia, pastor of Bobtown Road Baptist Church in Garland.
The board welcomed new members including Bart McDonald, executive teaching pastor at Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield; Mark McHargue of Round Rock, a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Austin; Russ Ponder, pastor of First Baptist Church of Farwell; Michael Postell, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Mansfield; and Joe Rivera, pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Grand Prairie. Newly elected SBTC officers are board members by virtue of their offices.
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