Pastors and laity business men along with our newly elected officers including Finance Committee and Administrative Committee leadership are on the committee. Pastor, Benny Keck, FBC Dover is Chairman, and Mr. Coleman Davis, layman, Plant City FBC, and owner of Badcock Furniture, is Co-Chairman.
Other members include: Rev. Kevin Wynn (Pastor FBC Durant), Rev. Bob Dygert (Pastor Knights), Mr. David Sullivan (Plant City FBC and vice-president Platinum Bank), and Mr. Bill Burnette (Dover FBC and CEO of Harold’s Farm Supply).
Additional support from Finance Chairman, Rev. Joe Bowles (Pastor Shiloh Church), Rev. Darrell Jones (Pastor Cedar Grove and newly elected moderator), Mrs. Ginny Diaz (Clerk-Treasurer) and Rev. Mike Fredette (Pastor Liberty Southern Baptist Church, formerly Westside, and currently doing effective Foundation Builders Ministry revitalization).
This last week’s initial meeting concluded:
- The Association will have to do major adjustments to next year’s budget. Possibly as much as 20 to 30%.
- Churches’ mission giving to the Association has decreased by 20% in the past three years. The Free Rider Fellowship Church is purchasing property for their church. They are moving out of our building in December. Financial support for further use of the building is depleted.
- The consensus of the Strategy Planning Group in the last meeting was:
a. Recommend the selling of the building (to one of our churches or place on the market for immediate sale). A plan to pay off our $235,000 liability and hopefully have available funds for the mission of the Association.
b. An official request of our mortgage company, Florida Financial Services, has been made to allow us to pay interest only until the property is sold.
c. A search has been authorized to seek relocation of our offices at a small affordable cost. Three of our churches have offered space. Truth Christian Bookstore has offered free meeting space and the building owner has a passion for us to use an adjacent office suite at whatever the Association can afford. They want our presence downtown to be a visible witness to offset the Church of Scientology and other anti-Christian influences.
d. A meeting is planned with Dr. Robert Roberts and the leadership of South Florida Association (80 churches of Lakeland/Polk County) to see about planning together this coming year. The hope is that we can offer more services and have a more relevant ministry support to our churches while decreasing our expenses. This would allow Central Florida churches consisting of West Polk County (South Florida Association area) and East Hillsborough (Shiloh Association area) working together. This would include doing more things like the Central Florida Sunday School Training Event being held at Dover First Baptist, this Saturday, September 25, 2010.
e. This would allow me as your DOM and pastors and laity of our churches to focus on a Foundation Builders Ministry to save churches through a revitalization strategy planning process, a crucial ministry of our Association over the past seven years. South Florida Association has emergency funds to provide immediate small loans to churches; something we have not developed.
f. Survey our pastors and laity to discover more effective resources, support, and ministry to strengthen pastors and laity of our Central Florida – Shiloh Baptist Association churches.
g. Clarify our identity through our name, vision, mission, and ministry for these times, culture and area served.
WHAT IS HAPPENING? HOW DID WE GET IN THIS SITUATION?
1. There is an aging and loss of membership and attendance in Southern Baptist life. The last ten years has recorded a loss of 10 to 15% in membership and attendance
2. The past three years of terrible economic conditions on families and individuals has brought the average church offering down 10 to 30%. Cooperative program giving is down 25% this year from a couple of years ago.
3. The Florida Baptist Convention has cut their staff and mission support by 25%. When I came ten years ago they were leading the SBC in starting new churches. They offered a partnership start-up support fund and grants up to $50,000 to purchase property for new churches. When we were doing revitalization at Berea, Florida Baptist Convention was the major contributor to help save the church with crucial repairs and expenses to keep the church alive. Today, they have no money for grants. They are limited or have nothing in this emergency fund.
4. The Southern Baptist Convention affirmed a report from a committee related to Great Commission Resurgence in the Orlando 2010 Convention. The major emphasis I heard in the last two conventions was really how to effectively do more with less resources, finances, and people. Reorganizing seemed to be necessary to do Great Commission missions. Humanly, we can’t do the same with 25% less financial support. Nationally, they need and want to do a greater per cent in the international missions.
5. A recent survey related to pastors or clergy across America indicates a crisis is at hand: (Survey by Duke University, George Barna, and Fuller Institute)
a. Discouraged and Depressed – many are on anti-depression medication.
b. They and their family’s health and emotional spiritual life is breaking.
c. More and more churches have to cut their salaries and depend on bi-vocational support.
d. Aging congregations, shrinking budgets, and unmanageable conflicts are adding to the stress of pastors, laity, and their families.
e. Many are saying if I could I would change vocations.
f. Seventeen hundred monthly are leaving the ministry
g. They are dying younger than ever before
6. Laity are more discouraged and are dropping out of churches.
7. The aging congregations are dying off or becoming unable to volunteer and fund the property and ministry of the church.
8. New churches are starting and old ones are renaming themselves leaving the name Baptist out indicating a lack of interest or loyalty to the denomination by the younger generations.
Conclusion:
I am grateful for your support and appreciate the work and good leadership of our Strategy Planning Group. I encourage you to continue your support and do the following:
1. Pray for Divine guidance in the important and necessary transitions in your Association. Become prayer partners with other pastors, laity, and churches across our Association. Gather with me in prayer, October 18th, afternoon or evening at Cedar Grove Baptist Church at our 60th Annual Shiloh Baptist Association Meeting.
2. Continue your financial support and increase your involvement in the Association. Give your prayerful input to the Strategy Planning Group. Their names and contact information will be available to each church office.
3. October is pastor appreciation month. Do something. Give your pastor more time off and every seven years give him a rest of a three month sabbatical. Be patient, forgiving, and understanding in all things. Celebrate the coming month as pastor appreciation and give him a special love offering and a day of celebration. If you treat him good and he leaves just know that you did God’s Will and God will bless you. If he stays know that you have changed the direction of care for pastors and you will have modeled the way for renovation and transformation of pastors in our Association needing care.
4. Pray and help your Association make this painful transition.
5. Join me in the work of Foundation Builders Ministry. Let us save a local church and provide opportunity for hundreds to be baptized, discipled until the Lord comes.
Thank you for your love, support, and great faithfulness. We love you.
Danny L. Morris
