J. Robert White, executive director for the Georgia Baptist Convention, shared some pertinent information with the GBC staff at a recent meeting of Convention employees. Index Editor Gerald Harris thought much of what the executive director shared would be good for all Georgia Baptists to hear and the following interview provided the forum for White to share that information.

 

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Index: I think Georgia Baptists would like to know your vision for our state convention. Would you mind sharing that with us?

 

White: Above all, I want to see a great God-sent revival sweep our state, nation, and world. I have been praying for this great awakening for years, as have many Georgia Baptists. We need a state convention of churches and associations filled with committed believers who will pray without ceasing for God to bring revival in an unprecedented way. I pray that we will see it in our lifetime.

I want to see Georgia Baptists break the pattern of 30,000 baptisms a year and move on to 50,000 then 100,000 baptisms per year. Southern Baptist churches have baptized approximately the same number of people every year for 50 years even though we have more Southern Baptists, more churches, and more resources than ever before.

I want to see Georgia Baptists lead the way to remarkable growth in evangelism. I want to see us reclaim the rich ground of young lives for the Kingdom of God. It is incomprehensible that the least evangelized age group in our nation now is older children and teenagers. This has to change as we focus on reaching our youth for Christ. They are our future.

I intend to lead Georgia Baptists to strengthen Cooperative Program giving in support of our worldwide mission enterprise. We will continue to lead Southern Baptists in giving to missions through the Cooperative Program, not for the sake of recognition, but for the sake of the Kingdom of God. I plan to soon begin a strong effort to build a Cooperative Program endowment to ensure the future growth of the multiplied ministries of our Convention. As the generations transition, billions of dollars are trading hands and we need to help Georgia Baptists catch a vision of how their dollars can bless Kingdom ministry until Jesus returns.

We will have the finest, qualified staff to be found anywhere with a heart for the local church and devotion to excellence. We will constantly be honing our skills to be most effective in equipping and training our church and associational leadership.

We will maintain a strong commitment to our institutions and do all in our ability to assist them in ministry. This will include millions of future dollars budgeted to bless these ministries.

Communication through various media will have a key role in our transmission of the gospel. Our new television studio that is currently only roughed in will be developed into a state-of-the-art communications facility so that we may more effectively inform and educate through the medium of television and other media.

 

Index: Dr. White, there was a time when most Southern Baptists knew about the Cooperative Program I’m not so sure that is as true today. Give us your view of the CP.

White: Some people believe that the Cooperative Program is the way we support the denomination. It is not. The Cooperative Program is the way you connect your church to its Acts 1:8 responsibility to proclaim the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. In 1925, Southern Baptists realized that the societal method of mission support was not working.

In this method, every missionary, institution, and agency of the Convention was responsible for raising his or her own support. This became a most inefficient way for Southern Baptists to support their work. Frequently church worship services were interrupted with missionaries and others admonishing the congregation to give to their mission cause. The more eloquent speakers garnered more support and the weaker communicators often failed to raise adequate support.

Southern Baptists realized that it was time for a unified giving plan that would, at once, support all Southern Baptist missions and ministries. The Cooperative Program was born.

The Cooperative Program is not a program at all. It is a channel of blessing, along which Southern Baptists can be a part of all that God is doing through Southern Baptist ministries around the world. Last year when Southern Baptist international missionaries took part in the baptism of over 475,000 new believers in one year, every giver to missions through the Cooperative Program had a part in those wonderful conversions to Christ. Since the Cooperative Program is not a program, but a channel, the proper terminology is that we give through the Cooperative Program not to the Cooperative Program.

 

Index: I know the CP has been called the genius of Southern Baptists. After all these years has it sufficiently stood the test of time?

White: There are voices today that wish to dismiss the Cooperative Program as “dated” and “inefficient.” These voices suggest that our churches should send directly whatever they wish to whichever Southern Baptist ministry they want to support. These persons lack an understanding of cooperation. The fact that the Cooperative Program is 82-years-old, does not mean it is dated. Actually, after 82 years, the Cooperative Program is “tried and true!” There is always the societal approach, but why should we go backwards. Experience has taught us that the societal approach is a failure. Giving through the Cooperative Program touches the whole of our ministries and demonstrates cooperation among churches, state conventions, and the national body of Southern Baptists.

Last summer, Southern Baptists in annual session approved the first ever definition of the Cooperative Program. It reads: “The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ unified plan of giving through which cooperating Southern Baptist churches give a percentage of their undesignated receipts in support of their respective state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention missions and ministries.”

Nothing more clearly illustrates that we need each other. Southern Baptists are interdependent. Our missionaries have asked me to say to Georgia Baptists, “Thank you for giving through the Cooperative Program, because if you were not giving we could not be here on the mission field sharing Christ.” It makes a difference what your church gives to missions through the Cooperative Program.

 

Index: When I think of the Cooperative Program I think of the word “synergy,” which means the working together of two or more people or organizations when the result is greater than the sum of their individual effects or capabilities. The CP just makes us more effective, doesn’t it?

White: I first heard John Sullivan, executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention, make this statement, with which I agree, “If we believe the Bible, then we know that Jesus commanded us to take all of the gospel to all of the people of all the world all of the time. How are we going to do that without something like the Cooperative Program? If we didn’t have the Cooperative Program we would have to invent something just like the Cooperative Program to do what Christ has commanded. Since we already have the Cooperative Program, then it makes good sense to support it.”

 

Index: I was looking at the Wall Watchers website recently. It ranks ministries on the basis of their stewardship accountability. What about the effectiveness of our giving plan?

White: Unlike many religious organizations, Southern Baptists do not have to send out streams of correspondence appealing for funds to support the work. Our giving plan, the Cooperative Program, provides a consistent method for supporting our ministries. Further, unlike many religious organizations that spend colossal amounts of their receipts on administration costs, only a fraction of Southern Baptist church contributions through the Cooperative Program are used to administer the work.

 

Index: How many Georgia Baptist Convention missionaries do we have and how are they making a difference?

White: Georgia Baptists have approximately one hundred full-time missionaries serving on our staff. They are facilitated by a support staff equal in number that perform a huge role in accomplishing the work in Georgia. Legally, these employees are employees of the Executive Committee. They are responsible for strategically planning for the evangelization of Georgia for Jesus Christ. Specifically they serve the churches.

A few years ago, our staff developed what we called our “main thing statement.” The purpose of this statement was to state in a few concise words what we are called to do as a staff of missionaries. We came to agreement on this statement: “Serving Christ by strengthening churches.” We understand that “Baptist Central” in Southern Baptist life is the local church, not the association, not the state convention, not the Southern Baptist Convention, but the local church. Our calling is to assist Georgia Baptist Churches in accomplishing what they sense God’s call for their church to be.

We have a special relationship with our associations. Associations, like churches and the state convention, are autonomous. We serve the associations in assisting in their work as requested. Sometimes that assistance is in the form of financial cooperation on a ministry or mission project and other times it is basically sharing of people resources. In short, our state missionaries are here to serve. We are constantly involved in evaluating the effectiveness of our service and strive to improve our ministry among the churches and associations.

 

Index: What portion of our CP money goes to the SBC Executive Committee and how does our state rank with other state conventions in CP giving?

White: Our Convention splits Cooperative Program receipts from our churches on a 50/50 basis after the “Shared Section” of the budget. The “Shared Section” of the budget includes those ministries that affect the ministries of both Georgia Baptists and Southern Baptists. Approximately 16% of the budget is in the “Shared Section.” The balance of the budget provides 42% to the ministries of the Georgia Baptist Convention and 42% to the ministries of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Currently, Georgia Baptists lead all of the old-line state conventions in the percentage of gifts sent on to SBC causes. Georgia Baptists are also leading all 42 state conventions in dollar support of the Southern Baptist Convention. Georgia has been providing this level of leadership among Southern Baptists for a number of years. When mission offerings are added to Cooperative Program funds sent to the Southern Baptist Convention, 53% of all missions receipts in Georgia are forwarded on to Southern Baptist causes. This is a good record for which we should be thankful.

 

Index: How is the new GBC Missions and Ministry Center being financed and paid for?

White: I’m glad you have asked this question. The new Missions and Ministry Center will be paid for with interest from reserve accounts and a designated capital funds account. We anticipate being able to eliminate the debt in ten years. Our loan with SunTrust Bank is at the outstanding rate of LIBOR plus .175. This translates to an interest rate of 5.31%. We owe a debt of gratitude to my associate, Mike Williams, and our attorney, Tom Duvall, for their work in securing this very fine rate. We appreciate SunTrust Bank working closely with us to make this happen.

 

Index: I understand that we are experiencing a significant savings on our utilities costs. Is that true?

White: The building is proving to be a great stewardship move. Every month we are saving approximately $7,000 in power costs compared to our previous facility on Flowers Road. Our building is state-of-the-art and this includes efficiency of operation.

 

Index: The first floor lobbies and chapel are so beautiful, emblematic, and illustrative. How are they being paid for?

White: The first floor chapel, adjacent lobbies, art work, sculptures, furnishings, and additional cost of construction per square foot for this unique space, including an allotment of parking spaces on the parking deck has been donated by the Georgia Baptist Health Care System in memory of a great Georgia Baptist pastor and leader, Dr. Louis D. Newton. The Health Care System donated $3 million that made it possible for us to provide a first-floor space that is both functional and worshipful.

 

Index: I appreciate the lease car program. I will travel more than 40,000 miles this year as I speak in churches, at associational meetings, and in conducting story interviews. It is good to know that I have a vehicle that I believe is safe and reliable, but how cost effective is the lease program?

White: For years our staff has been traversing Georgia in their own automobiles, running up high mileage and creating safety issues for themselves and their families. In those years we provided a travel stipend of $2,000 per year with the encouragement that the money be placed in reserve to facilitate the purchase of their next replacement vehicle. On top of the stipend, of course, we provided a per mile reimbursement for fuel in keeping with the IRS rate.

That proved to be inadequate to meet the needs of our staff and we considered a pool of vehicles on several occasions over the years. It was never financially feasible to have such a program until the cost of gasoline increased significantly and the IRS reimbursement per mile reached the forty-cent range. Now it is almost at fifty cents. It became not only feasible, but also advantageous for us to go to a fleet. We entered an agreement with Enterprise through whom we acquire and service the vehicles. We have been saving missions money ever since. We project a savings of $56,000 in 2008.

Providing for our staff travel is absolutely essential for our churches. We are here to serve the churches of our Convention. We can do some things at our desks, but the most effective ministry takes place in the field where we are personally in touch with our Georgia Baptist family. Our staff travels over 1.5 million miles every year as we serve Georgia Baptist churches and associations.

 

Index: Is there anything else you would like to share with the good Baptists of our state?

White: In closing, I want to encourage Georgia Baptists to make plans to attend the annual meeting of our Convention this year in Augusta on Nov. 11-13. You can attend the Convention meeting whether or not you are an elected messenger from your church. You will find the meeting to be informative and inspiring.

I know of no finer way to become informed first-hand about the ministries of your Convention. When you attend the convention, please find me and introduce yourself. The thing I have enjoyed most throughout my fifteen years with the Convention is the privilege of getting to know Georgia Baptists. This is a great state convention.