Carnes elected KBF president

Richard Carnes, a vice president of one of the nation’s largest banks, was unanimously elected by the Mission Board to serve as president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. A member of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Carnes rose through the ranks during his 20-year stint with PNC Bank.

“He brings two things to the position that very few people have,” KBF Board Chairman Charles Barnes said. “He’s called to ministry and, at the same time, he thoroughly understands the financial side of what the foundation is all about. That’s a rare combination. We see this as a new day, a new era and a new opportunity.”

Carnes, who served as KBF president from 1988-95, will resume the role June 1. He also served as director of the KBC’s administrative services department from 1983-88.

“We kind of built a picture frame of what we were looking for, and his picture fits that frame,” said Willis Henson, who chaired the KBF’s search committee. “I am totally 100 percent convinced we have hit a home run.”

Carnes, a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said he intends to work closely with Kentucky Baptists, spending most of his time visiting in homes and churches.

The Mission Board approved Carnes’ hire on the recommendations of the KBC’s administrative committee and the KBF board of directors.

“It’s a blessing to be able to come back into vocational ministry, and to know what you do everyday advances God’s kingdom,” he told administrative committee members.

$21.25M budget adopted

The Mission Board also approved a detailed $21,250,000 Cooperative Program budget that will continue to finance ministries and initiatives to help churches reach Kentucky and the world for Christ.

Reflecting a continued decline in CP contributions, the 2015-16 budget trims $750,000 from the current year’s budget of $22 million. It is the lowest budget adopted in 15 years.

“The last time we had a budget this low was in 2000-01, when the Cooperative Program goal was $21 million and the overall budget total was $22,875,050,” Lowell Ashby, leader of the KBC’s Finance and Business Services Team, told the Mission Board.

After reaching a high in fiscal year 2007-2008 of $23,867,431 with the exception of a small spike in 2011-2012, total CP receipts from churches have fallen by $2.46 million to a current level of $21,404,469.

Calling the CP revenue projection in the budget “realistic,” KBC Executive Director-Treasurer Paul Chitwood said, “We’re introducing a budget that, for the first time in a long, long time, we’ll be able to meet.

“We’re grateful for the support of Kentucky congregations as we join together to spread the gospel to our state, nation and world,” he said. “We’re bent on being good stewards of every penny.”

Fifty percent, or $9,881,250, of the budgeted revenue is allocated to the Southern Baptist Convention causes. Fifty percent will remain in Kentucky to be divided up among KBC programs, initiatives, agencies and institutions. Seven percent is shared between the KBC and SBC for promoting and administering the Cooperative Program.

Detailing the distribution of CP funding, projected 2015-16 state allocations for KBC agencies and institutions 2015-16 include:

• $994,444 to University of the Cumberlands, an increase of $16,665 from last year’s amount;

n $555,278 to Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, an increase of $32,167;

• $385,278 to Oneida Baptist Institute, an increase of $38,168;
• $259,722 to Western Recorder, a decrease of $9,167;
• $221,944 to Kentucky Baptist Foundation, a decrease of $7,834;
• $415,556 to Woman’s Missionary Union, a decrease of $14,666;
• $283,333 to Sunrise Children’s Services, a decrease of $10,000;
• $311,667 to Crossings Ministries, a decrease of $11,000.

The total projected distribution of CP funds to KBC agencies and institutions is $3,431,944, a decrease of $943,613 from 2014-15 budget figures. (Campbellsville University, which previously had been allocated $997,779 does not appear in this year’s budget.)

Projected 2015-16 state allocations for KBC Mission Board include:

• $656,539 to Mission Mobilization Team, an increase of $46,815 from last year’s amount;
• $2,378,027 to Church Consulting and Revitalization Team, an increase of $131,481;
• $1,805,450 to Evangelism and Church Planting Team, an increase of $191,427;
• $1,577,603 to Executive Office Team, an increase of $61,143;
• $1,022,102 to Business Services Team, an increase of $60,455.

The total projected distribution of CP funds to the KBC Mission Board (including General Convention Operating portion) is $7,936,806, an increase of $542,363 from 2014-2015 figures.

The total project distribution of CP funds to SBC causes is $9,881,250, a decrease of $348,750.

Meanwhile, the KBC reported that Kentucky Baptist churches gave more than $2.1 million through the Cooperative Program in April, continuing an upward trend that began last summer. Total CP receipts through eight months of the 2014-15 fiscal year stood at approximately $14.5 million. The $2,148,844 given in April puts CP contributions about $300,000 ahead of the same point last year.

In his report, Executive Director Paul Chitwood noted that Mission Board staff members drove more than 465,000 ministry miles last year. “That’s enough miles to circle the globe 19 times. To bring it closer to home, that will take you from Pikeville to Paducah nearly 1,200 times, or from Covington to Corbin 2,800 times,” he calculated.

“As to the ministry accomplished while traveling all those miles, your mission board staff preach and spoke over 1,000 times, made presentations and consultations to over 12,000 people—not including the people who were sitting in congregations while they were preaching,” Chitwood added.

Ministry events overseen by Mission Board staff and missionaries this past year yielded more than 6,000 professions of faith and helped churches start 29 new churches, he reported. Meanwhile, Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief ministries yielded 20 percent of the professions of faith of all the DR ministries across the Southern Baptist Convention combined.

“Not only are your DR workers from your churches very committed to meeting the needs of people in crisis situations,” he said, “but they have not lost sight of the reason they are on those job sites, and that is to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The statistics give only a “snapshot” of the vital work funded by the Cooperative Program and carried out by the Mission Board staff and the work of KBC agencies and institutions, Chitwood continued. “We are celebrating Kentucky Baptists’ ongoing commitment to partnering together for the sake of gospel advance through the Cooperative Program,” he said.

Chitwood also highlighted increases KBC churches saw in three key Annual Church Profile categories—baptisms, total church membership and undesignated giving. “God is blessing the work of Kentucky Baptists, and He is giving fruit to our labors,” he said. (WR)

(Robin Cornetet, of KBC Communications, contributed to this story.)