Even as some Southern Baptist state convention leaders are expressing concerns about the new initiatives of the North American Mission Board, the chief executive of the South Carolina Baptist Convention feels most state executives support a refocused emphasis on church planting in large metropolitan centers.
“In principle, I think most [state executives] agree, and I certainly agree, that we need to focus on strategic cities, reaching them with the gospel,” said SCBC executive director-treasurer Jim Austin.
Austin acknowledged, however, the “frustration” of executives in other states over the manner in which NAMB’s strategy is being played out, especially in terms of how changes in funding from NAMB will impact work in their states. One state has complained of NAMB acting “unilaterally.” (See “NAMB addressing tensions regarding strategy” for related story.)
Speaking to the Courier from eastern Canada, where South Carolina Baptist churches are expected to send upwards of 300 missions volunteers this summer, Austin said his counterparts in California, Pennsylvania and New England are frustrated that “even though NAMB says they are going to send more church planters to their areas, there’s still great confusion in those conventions as to what it’s going to look like.”
Austin noted that, almost two years after Southern Baptists adopted a Great Commission Resurgence report that called for the North American Mission Board to refocus on planting more churches in cities and reaching the continent with the gospel, the process remains “in a state of flux.”
“It’s just not met expectations as of yet,” Austin said, but added that he is optimistic “it’s all going to work out,” and, “we pray it will.”
In South Carolina, as many as 14 missions-ministry positions could be affected by changes in the way NAMB has traditionally funded state missions work through “cooperative agreements” with the convention.
Nine of those jointly funded positions involve missionaries who work in eight South Carolina Baptist associations: Charleston, Columbia-Metro, Florence, Greenville, Lexington, Piedmont, Spartanburg County and York. In addition, three positions in the SCBC building in Columbia are jointly funded by NAMB, and changes at NAMB are affecting two partially funded positions in Greer and Laurens associations.
As NAMB withdraws financial resources from Southern states in order to fund church planting in major cities and in Western states, directors of missions in South Carolina are seeking alternative ways of funding positions they say have become integral to coordinating their member-churches’ ongoing missions efforts, including community ministries, mission trips, church planting, and missions partnerships with other states.
“Our [member] churches are going to have to make some decisions,” one director of missions told the Courier.
Another DOM said his missions coordinator, until now jointly funded by NAMB, is “invaluable to us” in leading the association’s churches “to be on mission.”
“We’re having to reshuffle our budget to support that position,” he said.
Reiny Koshel, associational missionary for Laurens Association, said the missionary in his association is only “minimally” funded by NAMB, but said he is concerned that NAMB’s “hasty decision to quickly and dramatically shift toward church planting as its primary mission has hurt them in that very effort.”
“In cutting the various missionary positions throughout the states,” Koshel said, “[NAMB] failed to realize – these very missionaries – were instrumental in helping to provide valuable support for church planting by mobilizing teams and other efforts to support church planters.”
Koshel said churches will likely choose to reallocate their giving so they can continue to fund missionaries at the associational level, “even as NAMB considers them less valuable in their overall focus.”
“The Southern Baptist Convention’s power resides at the church level, not at the national level,” he said. “If an edict from the denominational hierarchy is not supported by the churches, they will express their support or displeasure by how they choose to allocate their contributions. Time will tell what the final outcome will be in this area.
“My hope is that the decisions that have been made will truly pierce the lostness of North America, and not just rearrange the idealogical chairs of a denomination.”