SBOM approves new South Florida strategy

EUSTIS (FBC) — A strategy to reach Southeast Florida’s urban areas with the Gospel, the allocation of funds to help Gulf Coast Baptists hit hard by Hurricane Katrina and a process to inform and educate Florida Baptists about the Marriage Protection Amendment were among a slate of business items approved during the Sept. 24 State Board of Missions meeting at Lake Yale Conference Center.

The new “Urban Impact Ministries Strategy” is designed for Florida Baptists to get a handle on reaching the most densely populated region in the state. Census statistics indicate that more than five million documented persons live in the three southeast Florida counties—Palm Beach, Broward and Miami. Yet mission strategists believe as many as five million undocumented persons live in the region.

Florida Baptists’ three area associations—Palm Lake, Gulf Stream and Miami—are comprised of 545 Southern Baptist churches. However, 49 percent of the churches are mission congregations, with an average membership of between 50 and 75 persons. Florida Baptists number 134,911 and comprise only 2.5 percent of Southeast Florida’s documented population.

“A mighty movement of God to change lives is needed if we are going to see a changed urban setting,” said Cecil Seagle, director of the Convention’s Missions Division. “We believe if we can adopt, adapt and affect a missional expression of what God sent his only Son to do, we will see some changes.”

Noting that Southern Baptists are not effective in reaching the urban cities, Seagle said the strategy is based on a “collective wisdom and collective synergy” partnership with the churches, associations and Florida and Southern Baptist entities. “It must reflect the power of God to change lives and to change the whole social structure.”

Seagle added, “We need to develop a single-track Kingdom-impacting plan that’s implementable, real world, real reality and that is contextualized.”

The six-part urban strategy will develop Cooperative Agreements with each of the three individual associations; establish a South Florida office of the Florida Baptist Convention on a long-term basis; reassign and relocate Convention staff to the area to implement and support strategy including an on-site liaison in each association; provide current funding and develop future funding requirements; and provide timely status reports to the board.

Placing a satellite office in South Florida will “put decision making and problem solving in the heart of that area,” said Seagle. “It is very difficult to do that from Jacksonville. When we are among the 10 million population pocket we are in place to seek God and to know His will and His purpose.”

Executive Director-Treasurer John Sullivan explained that details are continuing to be worked out. “We are probably 10 years late in coming, but it’s time to get on with it.”

Meeting on the eve of Hurricane’s Rita’s anticipated landfall, the State Board turned their attention to the hurricane raved Gulf-Coast.

After learning that the generosity of Florida Baptists and their churches in the wake of Hurricane Katrina resulted in gifts to the Florida Baptist Convention of $1.5 million designated for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief, the Board authorized the expenditure of funds to help those affected in the storm. An additional $154,660 was received for general disaster relief efforts.

The Board okayed several expenditures that had been previously made to support Florida Baptists’ response to the hurricane.

This included: $75,000 disbursed immediately after the storm to Alabama Baptist State Convention, $15,000, Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, $30,000, and Louisiana Baptist Convention, $30,000 for use in their Hurricane Katrina victim relief efforts; $50,000 to purchase $200 gift cards to be distributed to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary students who had lost their homes and belongings in the flooding after the hurricane; and $25,000 to the Choctaw Baptist Association in their efforts to shelter storm evacuees.

Seagle, who oversees Florida Baptist disaster relief response, said the remaining funds will be used to pay bills incurred by Florida Baptist disaster relief response in Hattiesburg, Miss., where nearly 149,000 meals were served and 1,400 homes repaired from their location at Main Street Baptist Church.

Sullivan promised, “When we get through paying the bills, we will give a full accounting during the November Board meeting. You can be sure the next time the storm comes, we will do the same thing. We will be the storm troopers in disaster relief, we always have been and always will be.”

Sullivan also asked the Board to designate $600,000 from the anticipated $1.6 million overage in the 2005 Cooperative Program receipts to “put the Body back together in helping our churches survive.”

Noting that the storm caused problems never dealt with before, Sullivan said, “Not only have the church buildings been destroyed, but churches have been destroyed. They can’t find their people, they don’t know where they are. One of the most difficult things we are dealing with is how to keep that pastor on the field while he re-gathers his people, and to help him understand it’s a rebuilding process much like a new church start.”

Sullivan also asked for money to “rebuild the student body and help students in need” at New Orleans Seminary, noting that Florida works in partnership with the seminary to provide theological education to Florida Baptists.

The board directed $500,000 of this special allocation be distributed as follows: $250,000 to assist faculty, staff and students at New Orleans Seminary to secure the replacement of clothing, libraries, furniture and other personal items; and $125,000 each to the Louisiana Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board for distribution as ministerial/staff salary assistance and other human needs.

The remaining $100,000 of the special allocation will be used by the executive director-treasurer in Hurricane Rita disaster relief and response.

Marriage amendment supported

The Board learned that efforts to amend the Florida Constitution by including a clause to define and protect traditional marriage had produced the required 61,113 signed and certified petitions necessary for the amendment to be reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court approves the ballot language another 611,009 signed and certified petitions must be collected by January 2006 for the constitutional amendment to appear in the November 2006 election deadline.

To support the petition drive, the Board authorized the Convention to retain the services of a contract worker to serve as a resource of information, education and encouragement to Florida Baptist church leaders and members. The board also granted $25,000 to the Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage, a registered political action group, to support the effort in securing signed and certified petitions.

In other business the Board approved a cooperative agreement between the Convention and the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools to support and encourage Florida Baptist churches that operate Christian schools as a ministry. In making the recommendation, Board member Don McLaughlin of Tallahassee affirmed, “This does not mean that we are withdrawing our children from public schools.”

A $38,462,531 Cooperative Program budget for 2006 was approved for distribution to: Southern Baptist Convention causes, 40 percent; Florida Baptist Convention causes, 51.5 percent; pastoral aid, 4 percent; and church annuity programs, 4.5 percent.

The portion designated for Florida Baptist Convention causes will be divided between programs of mission, ministry and support, 39.6650 percent; The Baptist College of Florida, 6.2 percent; Florida Baptist Children’s Homes 4.3 percent; Florida Baptist Financial Services, 0.26 percent and Florida Baptist Witness, 1.075 percent. Messengers at the 2005 Florida Baptist State Convention will consider the budget when it meets Nov. 14-15 in Ocala.

In personnel matters, the board employed Amaury Santos of West Palm Beach as a language church planting missionary in North Central Florida, filling a role left vacant by the resignation of Deris Coto.

Santos, 33, serves as pastor of the Hispanic congregation of Grace Fellowship Church in West Palm Beach. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Santos came to the United States in 1998, and that same year became the founding pastor of the Hispanic congregation at First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach. Under his leadership the congregation grew from 16 to 102 members with an average attendance of 120 in worship. He also started churches in his homeland.

Presently, Santos is working on a master of arts degree in religion through the extension program of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

The Board also learned that an evaluation and performance review had been conducted by the administrative/personnel committee for executive director-treasurer John Sullivan. Board President Ben Bryant noted that Sullivan’s performance earned a value of 4.976 out of a possible 5 point scale, and “revealed complete satisfaction with the performance. There was an unanimous expression that Florida Baptists are fortunate and blessed to have Dr. John Sullivan as their leader.”

The Board approved a number of revisions in the Florida Baptist State Convention and State Board of Missions bylaws, including one that further defines ordained and laypersons when serving as a trustee of the state convention agencies and board. Another bylaw revision set the minimum number of persons serving on the State Board of Missions to 90. The maximum number previously set is 99.

Other revisions approved will allow the Convention to develop a Cooperative Program budget three percent over the prior year’s budget. The amount had been set at two percent above the previous year’s budget.

In other action, the Board:

• granted a 10-by-10 foot easement on the Convention-owned property on the site of the Baptist Student Union facility in Gainesville to Bell South Telecommunications Company to install a telecommunications equipment station;

• authorized statistical information collected by Haitian mission congregations that were started by the Florida Baptist Convention-sponsored Confraternite Missionaire Baptist d’Haiti, to be recorded and merged with statistical information collected through the Annual Church Profile for Florida churches and missions;

• established a procedure to gather endowment funds for specific programs or ministries consistent with the Convention’s missions and priorities;

• designated McGregor Baptist Church in Fort Myers as the site of the 2006 Florida Baptist State Convention meeting;

• learned that Florida Baptists will become involved in the Southern Baptist Convention evangelistic and stewardship campaign, “Everyone Can.”