I want to express gratitude to the members of Kentucky Great Commission Task Force who have served over the past eight months and to all Kentucky Baptists who have prayed for the committee members. I am grateful for the work of Dr. Hershael York in leading the committee, writing much of the report, and giving generously of his time in sharing the report personally with KBC entity heads, KBC staff and directors of missions.
http://www.kybaptist.org/kbc.nsf/pages/kygc-report.html" title="
http://www.kybaptist.org/kbc.nsf/pages/kygc-report.html">Click here to read the report.
I also want to thank Charles Barnes, chairman of the Mission Board’s Business and Finance Committee, for his days of work on the financial plan of the report. Once the task force had voted on the goal of moving to a 50/50 division of Cooperative Program receipts with the Southern Baptist Convention and certain reductions, it became his task to work with me and KBC Business Team Leader Lowell Ashby to come up with a financial plan that would move KBC toward the goals.
Given the recommendations, I think it is an equitable plan for absorbing the loss of funds from the anticipated phase-out of our cooperative agreement with the North American Mission Board ($1,017,000), managing reductions in CP allocations for Kentucky missions and ministries, and challenging everyone to do and give “more for Christ.”
The focus of the report is on the Great Commission and getting the gospel to the unreached people groups of the world through the Cooperative Program. We all know that more resources are needed to fulfill the Great Commission and this was a prime motivation for committee members.
A key element and the first recommendation of the report is a call for spiritual repentance and renewal that results in renewed commitment to the Great Commission. If the report is approved by messengers this November, we will have an emphasis called “More for Christ” that I hope will permeate the soul of every Kentucky Baptist and every church. Each individual and church will be encouraged to seek the Lord on how they can do more for Christ in reaching people, increasing baptisms, developing disciples and supporting missions through CP.
The report’s second recommendation calls for the KBC to move to a 50/50 split with SBC of CP receipts within seven years after taking out 4 percent in shared expenses. This will mean increased allocations for the International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, the six seminaries and other SBC ministries. At the same time it will mean reduced allocations for KBC missions and ministries.
The report’s third recommendation is to call on churches to increase the percentage of their giving to missions through CP so that we see a convention-wide increase of 3 percent each year for seven years. The report notes that this can be accomplished if each KBC church will increase its percentage by just one-quarter of a percent each year.
In these challenging economic times, the question has been raised about what will happen if the growth in CP does not come at this level. In such a scenario, the task force and Business and Finance Committee would need to consider a recommendation to either extend the time for reaching the even 50/50 split or further reduce the missions and ministries of KBC, or both. This is my biggest concern about the future and KBC missions and ministries.
The report’s final recommendation is to allow the task force to stay in place for the duration of the seven-year plan to enable it to monitor progress and report annually to Kentucky Baptists. I think the intent is for the task force to be actively involved in encouraging individuals and churches to take on the CP missions challenge to do more for Christ.
It is the hope of the task force that young leaders and others will be encouraged by this aggressive plan to shift significant funds to world missions and that they will respond to this opportunity to support missions through the Cooperative Program.
Obviously, the report calls for Kentucky Baptists to conduct a spiritual inventory to discover under God how we can all do more for Christ. If every church member and church will do more, implementing the plan will not be a burden on any one individual or church and it will be amazing to see how God uses us!
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posted by: Brenda Smith on August 31st, 2010
As the Kentucky Baptist Convention nears the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year on Aug. 31, my heart is filled with gratitude for the faithfulness of Kentucky Baptists in giving to support missions.
It has been a great year of missions support by Kentucky Baptists. Kentucky Baptists have set new records through July in giving through the
Lottie Moon offering for international missions, $5,175,549 (up 19.6 percent); the
Annie Armstrong offering for North American Missions, $2,056,568 (up 3.3 percent); and the
Eliza Broadus offering for state missions, $1,251,613 (up 15 percent).
There were two legacy gifts for the Lottie Moon offering and one each for Annie Armstrong offering and Eliza Broadus offering that helped to boost these totals, but new records would have been set even without the legacy gifts. In a year of economic challenge, I am so grateful to Kentucky Baptists for continuing to give faithfully to support missions through these offerings.
I also want to express heartfelt thanks for the gifts of Kentucky Baptist churches through the
Cooperative Program for missions across Kentucky and North America and around the world. I believe that the best way to support a holistic Great Commission missions strategy is through CP. The Cooperative Program supports the foundation of Great Commission missions through the ministries of state conventions in strengthening churches and reaching people in communities in every county.
The 14 old line states provide more than 90 percent of the support for missions nationally and internationally. As one of those states, Kentucky is a vital part of the link for the support of world missions.
Additionally, I want to express gratitude to Kentucky Baptists for their response to the challenge of
“Find It Here.” I praise God for more than 41,000 Kentucky Baptists who were involved in
prayer walking their neighborhoods and distributing the gospel to 1.3 million homes in Kentucky.
A follow-up emphasis has been planned with a goal of having 67,000 Kentucky Baptists involved in prayer and fasting leading up to Easter on April 24, 2011. “Find it Here 2011” will also include scripture distribution to individuals in colleges, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, prisons and jails. As with last year’s emphasis, the scripture distribution will be coordinated by local associations.
Begin to pray now for a great harvest and focus on those people that you want to see come to Christ in believing faith.
Also, please remind your church treasurer that if your church would like to receive credit for gifts in the 2009-10 fiscal year, the check needs to be postmarked by Aug. 31 and arrive at the bank by Sept. 2.
For me and my wife, Kay, this is a great time to serve with Kentucky Baptists!
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posted by: Bill Mackey on August 24th, 2010
Youth in Kentucky who serve as
Kentucky Changers each summer are used by God to make an awesome impact for the
Great Commission. At the same time God makes an awesome impact on their lives for eternity.
The experience of repairing homes, building relationships with other Christian youth and the homeowners combined with powerful worship and small group time result in many decisions for Christ.
This past summer, 999 youth participated in a week of repairing homes in Bullitt County, the city of Princeton and in Crittenden Association. During the three weeks of Kentucky Changers this past summer, the youth repaired 90 homes. The home transformations typically include such projects as new roofs, new paint, new windows or a new wheelchair ramp.
It is a credit to these youth that they pay for the cost of their trip and room and board for the privilege of doing hard physical labor to help people in need. They usually sleep on the floor in a school.
Local churches also play a significant role by delivering lunch to the job sites and providing funds for materials if the local government does not have the funds or a grant to do so.
It is an incredible experience to be present for the final night when the teams celebrate the accomplishments of the week by viewing the before and after pictures of the homes on a large screen. This past summer, three homeowners and a boy in one home accepted Jesus Christ.
Crew chiefs and assistant crew chiefs play strategic roles in the youths’ experience. They assist the young people in learning to work together as a team and learning new home repair skills. They also teach safety in using the equipment. It is a strong development experience for youth who learn new skills and grow spiritually at the same time.
Among the Kentucky Changers themselves this summer, decisions for Christ included 40 professions of faith, 69 rededications and 38 commitments to vocational Christian service. Leaders who accompany the youth groups follow up on decisions after the youth return home.
A number of the youth who have been participants over the past 16 years have gone on to become youth leaders themselves and now bring their youth to participate.
It was exciting to be present at
Little Flock Baptist Church for the Bullitt County celebration. It is great to see youth leaders who are excited and grateful to God for the growth and development of their youth.
As executive director, it is a privilege to see the cooperation and leadership of the Kentucky Baptist Convention staff blessed by God for a powerful Great Commission impact. Thank you, Kentucky Baptists, for your generous support of the
Cooperative Program which provides funding for staff and these ministries!
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posted by: Bill Mackey on August 17th, 2010
The summer of 2010 saw attendance and decision records shattered at Kentucky Baptists’
Crossings camps located at
Kentucky Baptist Assemblies’ Jonathan Creek and Cedarmore facilities.
Camper registrations totaled 8,699 for the Crossings camps. (This number does not include non Crossings groups that participated in other camping programs on the campuses during the summer.) The most gratifying report from the Crossings camps was that 478 youth accepted Jesus Christ as savior and lord!
This was an outstanding response but KBA President David Melber said he is greatly concerned that church groups are not bringing more unsaved youth to the camps. Crossings offer a scholarship for each unsaved youth who is enlisted and attends.
Crossings is an incredible opportunity for unsaved youth to have a fun experience in an environment where relationships are valued and the gospel is clearly practiced and shared. The 42 staff persons begin praying for each camper by name weeks before the camps so each one is known and valued by the staff. This is a strong and unique feature of Crossings.
David also reported that a record 490 campers surrendered to the call to full time Christian ministry this summer. God is obviously moving among Kentucky Baptists because an increasing number of participants in
Kentucky Changers also made commitments to full time Christian ministry. I can’t help but wonder if part of this is due to the great movement of prayer we have seen in Kentucky due to the
Find it Here emphasis earlier this year.
We praise God for each of these decisions. I can identify with these young people because it was during a camping experience that I surrendered to full time Christian ministry at age 16.
Another record set by the campers was the $105,946.11 they gave during their time at Crossings for mission work in India. During the worship session that I attended at Cedarmore, the staff used Skype to connect for a live interview with workers and children in India who are being provided a safe place to live, lessons from the Bible and a much needed education. The youth at Crossings are being challenged to give sacrificially to support missions.
It was gratifying to see improvements at both sites. Jonathan Creek now has an expanded auditorium that will seat 680 and a new lake. Cedarmore has a new auditorium and a new dining hall is under construction.
As the school year approaches, please pray that the students who made decisions at camp will follow through on them in their churches. Pray also that their churches will support and encourage them.
Learn more about the Crossings camps and the work of Kentucky Baptist Assemblies on their website at
www.crossingscamps.org.
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posted by: Bill Mackey on August 10th, 2010
Southern Baptists are beginning to transition the work in Haiti from disaster relief to rebuilding and teams are needed.
KBC Disaster Relief Associate Coy Webb says the goal is for Southern Baptists to rebuild 5,000 block homes in the next year to 18 months.
Webb said the KBC will work in coordination with the
Florida Baptist Convention, the
North American Mission Board and with Haitian Baptist pastors and churches on the rebuild project.
He said a team of 6-12 members can build two block homes in one week. The plan calls for the team to construct 256-square-foot homes that are designed in such a way that they can be expanded by the homeowner later. The concrete slab will already be in place when the team arrives to do the construction.
These homes are desperately needed. Currently, many families devastated by the January earthquake are continuing to live in tents and other forms of temporary housing.
Rebuilding the homes will provide a great witness for Christ and ministry outreach for Haitian Baptists. The construction of the homes will also provide a great training opportunity for Haitians who assist and can open doors for future employment in construction.
Haitian Baptist leaders also desire discipleship and evangelism teaching and equipping teams. Webb believes that equipping new believers is crucial for continuing spiritual vitality among believers and in the churches.
Now is the time for you and your church to plan a trip.
Scott Pittman, director of the KBC’s Partnership Missions Department, will be the primary KBC coordinator for the Kentucky rebuild teams.
Kentucky Baptists are to be commended for their outstanding response to the disaster in Haiti. Our convention has sent 18 disaster relief teams to Haiti thus far to provide medical services, build temporary housing, remove rubble and assist the people in other ways. Their efforts have directly resulted in at least 170 professions of faith.
In addition, more than 540 temporary (canvass covered) homes have been built and 40,000 Buckets of Hope distributed.
Kentucky Baptists have also provided more than $400,000 for disaster relief. These funds have provided more than 691,000 meals which were distributed by Haitian Baptist churches as well as medical supplies, water and rebuilding materials.
Webb has been involved in the Southern Baptist disaster relief effort since the beginning, having served on the first NAMB assessment team. He said the most gratifying experience has been the response of volunteers and the revival and evangelistic harvest among Haitians. Reports indicate that more than165,000 professions of faith have been recorded and 150 new churches planted since the earthquake.
Please pray about how God wants you and your church to be involved and contact the KBC Partnership Missions Department at
partnership@kybaptist.org to make arrangements for your team.
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posted by: Bill Mackey on August 3rd, 2010