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Executive Committee gives approval to 2016 budget
Chad Austin, BSC Communications
July 14, 2015
3 MIN READ TIME

Executive Committee gives approval to 2016 budget

Executive Committee gives approval to 2016 budget
Chad Austin, BSC Communications
July 14, 2015

The Executive Committee (EC) of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC) gave its approval to a proposed 2016 budget that will increase giving to missions through the Cooperative Program (CP) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) by three percent.

The $29.5 million budget approved by the EC on Thursday, July 9, reflects an overall increase of a half-million dollars from the current 2015 budget and proposes to increase the percentage of funds given to the SBC for missions from 37 to 40 percent.

The proposed budget will be presented to the full BSC Board of Directors at its September meeting. Messengers from N.C. Baptist churches will vote to give final approval to the 2016 CP budget at the BSC annual meeting Nov. 2-3 in Greensboro.

“We did this (budget) under the framework of maximizing the potential we have to impact lostness,” said Tony Honeycutt, chairman of the Budget Committee, who presented the budget proposal to the EC.

The proposed budget also includes increased allocations to the BSC institutions and agencies, as well a designation to the Evangelism and Discipleship Group to fund new projects related to church strengthening and revitalization. It includes a two percent cost-of-living increase for BSC staff.

The budget maintains life and disability protection benefits for N.C. Baptist pastors and church staff, but eliminates an annual matching contribution given to pastors and church staff members who participate in the GuideStone retirement plan. The contribution equates to about $210 per person per year.

“We are asking churches to pick up this minimal amount of expense for their pastors and for their staff,” Honeycutt said.

The budget also keeps the allocation and goal for the 2016 North Carolina Missions Offering unchanged at $2.1 million.

The three percent increase in funds sent to the SBC means about $1.1 million more would go toward supporting missions and ministries through the CP. The proposed increase continues a trend of sending a higher percentage of the annual budget to the SBC each year. The BSC has increased its allocation to the CP by one-half percent every year for the past 10 years.

Regarding the current 2015 budget, Beverly Volz, director of accounting services, reported that CP funds received by the BSC through June 30 equal approximately $13.8 million, which is 2.58 percent higher than the same time period last year.

In other business, the EC voted to transfer money from a BSC fund previously earmarked for church loans to the North Carolina Baptist Foundation (NCBF) to support the N.C. Baptist Scholarship Program, which NCBF now manages.

The funds will support merit and need-based scholarships for students from N.C. Baptist churches attending one of the five colleges and universities affiliated with the BSC, as long as those schools remain in friendly cooperation with the convention. At its May meeting, the Board of Directors voted to transfer oversight of the annual scholarship program from the convention to NCBF.

The EC also approved a new missions mobilization consultant position with North Carolina Baptist Men. The consultant will work with churches and associations to involve more individuals in various local, state, national and international mission projects and partnerships. The position will be funded through the North Carolina Missions Offering and other reserve funds.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Chad Austin is the communications coordinator for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.)