giving_states_82503

Posted: 8/22/03

State Baptist conventions feel
the pinch of decreased giving this year

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

Times are tough all over for state Baptist conventions seeking to fund their ongoing ministries.

A mid-year survey of the largest state conventions found none meeting their Cooperative Program budgets.

Editors of state Baptist papers in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia provided giving data for the period from January through June 2003. Data was not available from editors in Alabama, Virginia, Florida, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas.

In every state for which data was available, Cooperative Program giving not only is lagging behind budget but also behind last year's giving.

Texas and Missouri, two states that have experienced convention splits in recent years, both are running more than 10 percent behind budget. But even some less-politicized states, like Tennessee for example, are running nearly 10 percent behind budget.

Cooperative Program budget deficits at mid-year range from 3.73 percent in South Carolina to 18.5 percent in Georgia.

For some state conventions, the picture is even more challenging regarding funds available for use in state-run ministries. In North Carolina, for example, total Cooperative Program receipts are running 8.44 percent behind budget, but funds available to use in state ministries are running 16.87 percent behind budget.

That distinction is possible in states like North Carolina, Virginia and Texas that allow churches more freedom to customize the distribution of Cooperative Program gifts. In Texas, the amount of money available for state use is running 14.03 percent behind budget, a slightly greater deficit than the 11.65 percent lag in total Cooperative Program giving

June turned out to be a dismal month in giving across the board, editors reported. For example, William Perkins, editor of the Mississippi Baptist Record, wrote that Cooperative Program giving there dropped below the $2 million mark in June for the first time in 34 months.

Although Mississippi started off the year with record giving, that pattern did not hold, he said. “Only April and July have surpassed monthly needs.”

Similar accounts are given for other state conventions.

However, most noted an upturn in giving in July and hopeful prospects for August.

Clear reasons for the across-the-board slump in giving are hard to come by as well, although the downturn in the national economy often gets cited as a factor.

“North Carolina has lost a lot of manufacturing and tech-based jobs, which probably impacts the drop, but I think there's also a growing apathy toward denominational giving, more interest in local church and self-direction of missions money,” said Tony Cartledge, editor of the North Carolina Biblical Recorder.

Staff at the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina are holding expenses to 85 percent of budget, as are staff at the Baptist General Convention of Texas, where 20 positions were eliminated this month.

Designated giving–which includes special missions offerings and donor-directed gifts–also has declined this year in most state conventions. Of those reporting data in this category, only Kentucky showed a slight increase, of one-tenth of 1 percent.

The impact of this year's lower giving through state Baptist conventions is masked in some cases by the fact that budgets for 2003 were set with little or no growth. That decision was made in many state conventions because of slower budget growth last year.

That means, for example, that in some cases the 2003 budget is 5 percent to 15 percent less than last year's budget. When gifts fall below the new budget line, that doubles the impact of the loss over previous years.

Mid-year giving trends in state Baptist conventions
	BGCT	N.C.	S.C.	Mo.	Ky.	Tenn.	Miss.	Ga.
Percentage
over/under
CP budget	-11.65	-8.44	-3.73	-11.15	-4.09	-9.38	n/a	-18.5
% Increase/
decrease from
last year	-4.02	-2.82	-2	-1.92	-2.71	-4.17	-2.82	-1.48
Percentage
over/under
state budget	-14.03	-16.87	-3.73	-11.15	-3.32	-9.38	-4.53	n/a
% Increase/
decrease in
designated gifts	-4.28	-6.25	-1.69	n/a	0.10	n/a	n/a	-4.3