It’s still a good day to be a Kentucky Baptist! We welcomed a new group of ministers to our state this week during our Get Acquainted Day event at your Baptist Building. As I was giving them updates on all that they were now a part of through the Cooperative Program giving of their church, I realized anew how God is working powerfully in our midst. I know you will be excited to celebrate all that He is doing through His people.

As you have recently seen in the Western Recorder, we are celebrating the second straight year of an increase in baptisms in our churches. And, for the first time in recent memory, we are halfway through the fiscal year and running AHEAD of the Cooperative Program budget! As a reminder, any dollars given above the budget will be distributed to KBC ministries and entities and SBC ministries and entities on the same percentage as the budget funds so every penny continues to be used to reach Kentucky and the world for Christ.

Good news continues to come from Crossings Ministries as they just hired a new president, Jeff Dalrymple. They are also on pace for another record-breaking number of students at camp this summer.

Sunrise Children’s Services, under the leadership of its new president, Dale Suttles, also continues to break records and will soon top the 1,000 mark in the number of kids being ministered to by Kentucky Baptists’ orphan care ministry. Many of these kids still have biological parents living but could be called “orphans of the living.” Considering the abuse and neglect they have endured at the hands of their parents, being an orphan of the living may be a worse plight than to have parents pass away. Helping them shoulder their pain and providing safe and loving care are a people called Kentucky Baptists.

With an enrollment that has now surpassed 6,000 graduate and undergraduate students, the University of the Cumberlands, under the leadership if its new president, Larry Cockrum, isn’t just breaking records, they are destroying records! My son is in his first semester at UC, shooting for the Patriot Archery Team, and loving it. Enrollment is also climbing at Oneida Baptist Institute and Clear Creek Baptist Bible College.

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation, under the leadership of its new president, Richard Carnes, has entered a new phase of partnering with Mission Board staff members to help undergird the financial future of local churches and Baptist work. Thankfully, the Western Recorder and WMU also continue their vital ministry roles in Kentucky.

As I said at the beginning, it’s a good day to be a Kentucky Baptist! Thank you for being a part of all God is doing through cooperative ministries and the Cooperative Program of the Kentucky Baptist Convention!