SCBC ‘on offensive for gospel’ despite shrinking CP giving, Austin says

In his report at the April 7-8 meeting of the Executive Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, SCBC executive director-treasurer Jim Austin expressed optimism in the face of declining Cooperative Program gifts from churches.

Austin noted that CP receipts from churches fell to $27.34 million in 2013, down from $28.52 million in 2012 and $31.26 million in 2009. Full-time SCBC staff positions have been reduced from 97 to 62 since 2007, he said, while “we continue to offer the same services to our churches.”

Despite the budget shortfall, Austin pointed to highlights in missions and ministry growth throughout convention life. The report included:

  • Increases in church and volunteer participation, from 2012 to 2013, in the convention’s partnerships with Halifax, Nova Scotia; Atlanta; Cleveland; and New Delhi, India.
  • In 2013, 764 South Carolina Baptists were trained for volunteer mission service — more than double the number of volunteers trained in 2012.
  • Toward a goal of 40 church plants each year, the convention had 31 plants in 2013 and is averaging 28.6 per year since 2009.
  • Baptisms in 2013 were reported at 19,518, the highest annual total since 2009. Over the past five years, the convention has averaged about 15,000 baptisms annually.
  • Summersalt summer camp attendance was 2,721 in 2013 and has trended upward each year. There were 232 decisions for Christ. By comparison, there were 77 decisions in 2010.
  • On non-Baptist, state-operated college campuses, there were 151 reported professions of faith during the 2012-2013 academic year. There were 291 collegiate ministry missionaries in 2013, compared to 46 during the 2008-2009 academic year.
  • With fewer disasters requiring response, disaster relief volunteers were down in 2013, but already in 2014 there have been 600 volunteers mobilized to serve during the winter ice storms across the state.
  • Up from 67 churches in 2012, there are now 72 churches involved in the Intentional Church Multiplication Process toward church health. By comparison, there were 43 churches involved in ICMP during 2011.
  • Forced minister terminations were down to 51 in 2012, the lowest annual number since 2008, when there were 80 forced terminations. Austin said intentional efforts by the convention staff and leadership to inform churches and to minister to pastors have helped reduce the numbers. There were 64 people attending the convention’s Band of Brothers initiative in January, and there are now 22 Band of Brothers groups meeting across the state. In 2013, there were no pastoral suicides in South Carolina, after eight consecutive years with at least one suicide.

Austin did lament a decline in the number of convention churches now offering Vacation Bible School. In 2013, 1,356 churches offered VBS, the lowest annual number since 2009.

There were also reported slight declines in attendance at Camp McCall in Pickens County. The camp is undergoing a leadership change in its day-to-day management, and Austin reported optimism that numbers will again increase at the camp.

“In no area is our convention staff and leadership on the defensive,” Austin said. “We are on the offensive. We are on the offensive for the gospel and for the Lord.”