Baptist Briefs

Posted: 11/18/05

Baptist Briefs

Arkansas Baptists oppose gambling. Messengers to the Arkansas Baptist State Convention passed seven resolutions, including ones opposing casino and lottery gambling, the sale of beer on college campuses, and homosexual activism. Messengers also called for their leaders to increase their support for the Cooperative Program unified budget, and they took the first step in granting agency status to the Baptist Assembly at Siloam Springs, Ark. The convention adopted a no-growth budget of $19.7 million that includes $8.3 million–42 percent–for Southern Baptist Convention causes.

IMB needs child care volunteers. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board needs 40 volunteers to provide child care for missionary families in Western Europe while adult personnel attend regional meetings in Germany, April 12-18. For more information, contact Janey Barton at jbarton@wero.org.

Rotary helps CBF relief efforts in Louisiana. The Rotary Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to aid the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Louisiana's hurricane relief efforts in Lacombe, a small Creole community about 25 miles north of New Orleans.Earmarked to restore at least five houses in Lacombe, the grant was requested by Rotary Club 99 in Little Rock, Ark. Through a partnership with CBF of Arkansas, Rotary Club 99 learned about CBF of Louisiana's efforts in Lacombe and have been providing supplies, funds and volunteer labor. Rotary Club 99, the eighth-largest Rotary club in the world, first provided a much-needed cargo trailer, which representatives delivered to Lacombe last month. The trailer, along with three new chainsaws donated by Second Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., have helped CBF of Louisiana's rebuilding efforts.

Virginia Baptists reduce budget slightly. Virginia Baptists approved a reduced budget for 2006 during the 182nd annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The $14.4 million budget for 2006 is $300,000 lower than the current budget, which Treasurer Eddie Stratton said may fall short by as much as $500,000. Budget Committee Chair Darrell Foster attributed the shortfall and reduced budget to Virginia Baptists' $2.3 million in contributions to relief for victims of the South Asia tsunami and the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Also at the annual meeting, Pastor Bert Browning of Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond was elected president.