Virginia Budget: Description

by T.C. Pinckney                                                                                       Vol. V, No. 7, December 1992

The Virginia state convention budget is a mess. Not only that, a complicated mess. Yet it is vitally important that you and the rest of your congregation understand the budget enough that your church can come to an informed decision on how you want your mission dollars used. This article will try to explain the budget as clearly and briefly as possible, but be forewarned it is bound to be somewhat complex.

Prior to the 1991 Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) budget, the division of funds between the BGAV and SBC had remained essentially the same and fairly simple since the 1960's: 68% of each church's gifts were kept for the state budget and 32% sent to the SBC Cooperative Program (CP).

In the 1990 budget, complication began in a small way: the money to fund the pastor/ staff annuity-protection plan was removed from the state section of the budget and placed in a separate "preferred" section. "Preferred" meant that no matter how much or how little money came in, the annuity-protection plan would be funded fully at its $660,000 level, 4% of the total budget of $16,300,000. That action had the effect of reducing the state percentage of the total budget to 5 9.5 % and the SBC portion to 36.5%, thus shifting part of the annuity protection plan cost to the SBC. This was just the beginning.

The 1991 budget marked a major change, both in concept and in complexity. Section A, the annuity-protection plan money, remained the same. Section B, the state portion, had its name changed from the previous "Virginia State Missions Budget" (which included everything the state PAID FOR whether located in Virginia or elsewhere) to "Cooperative Missions in Virginia" (which apparently is intended to include only causes located in Virginia). Even more revealing, the title of Section C was changed from "SBC Missions Budget" to "World Missions Budget, "omitting any reference to the Southern Baptist Convention. But more than the name was changed.

Section B, Virginia, was increased to 61.9%, almost exactly the same as it had been before 1990, and the "World Missions Budget" percentage was further reduced to 34%. Thus over two years the entire $660,000 for Section A, the Annuity-protection plan, was shifted from the state to the SBC.

But it was in Section C, World Missions Budget, that the really major change of direction took place. The 34% or $5,552,200 budget portion was divided into two halves: half went to the SBC CP; half was designated (and so controlled) by the BGAV to various causes, some SBC, some non-SBC.

• In the SBC designations, the Foreign Mission Board (FMB) was designated $1,611,950; the Home Mission Board (HMB) $620,000; the Annuity Board $25,000; and a seminary fund of $150,000 to be divided among the six SBC seminaries proportionate to the number of Virginia students at each. [I told you it was complicated!]

• Non-SBC designations were: (a) the liberal Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs $75,000 (during the previous three budgets the BJCPA line item had been part of the state section at much smaller amounts); (b) the Baptist World Alliance $100,000, a new item; (c) the liberal Associated Baptist Press $60,000, another new item; and (d) Partnership Missions $134,150, moved from the state budget and increased from $40,000.

The 1992 budget remained essentially the same. Still only 17 % went to the SBC with the same four designations to the FMB, HMB, AB, and the seminary fund in the same amounts. There were two new line items added to the non-SBC designations: Americans United for Separation of Church and State (the extremely liberal lobbying group) was moved from the state section to "World Missions" and the seminary in rebellion in Richmond was added.

You will note two thrusts of the 1990, ‘91 & ‘92 budget changes. (1) Over time the Southern Baptist Convention receives less. (2) More liberal causes are inserted into the budget for more money in aggregate.

Now we come to the 1993 budget just voted by the state convention in Virginia Beach:

World Missions 1 track: Remains the same. The 35% going out of state flows to the SBC Cooperative Program.

World Missions 2 track: Major changes as summarized below:

•  Section A remains the annuity-protection plan, but the amount is reduced from the previous $660,000 to $440,000 because of a credit from the SBC Annuity Board.

    Consequently Section A requires only 2.9% vice 4%.

•  Section B, Cooperative Missions in Virginia, receives 60.3%, down from 61.9% and with all the reduction coming from allocations to Virginia Baptist Homes and to the seven schools, colleges, and the university we support.

•  Section C is a new budget section for Partnership Missions funded at 1.9% or $317,000 vice $158.150 last year.

•  Section D is World Mission Causes which receives 35% of total gifts. (The increase from the prior 34% is due to the credit from the SBC Annuity Board.) As in the last two years, half the money goes to the SBC CP, half to designated items chosen by the BGAV. This year there are major changes in those designated items: (1) the pro-rata seminary fund has been eliminated, (2) the liberal Richmond seminary has been added for $171,288 when figured on the same basis as last year for comparison, (3) the FMB & HMB designations have been slashed '  $633,242, (4) the Annuity Board has been more than doubled to $57,096, (5) the new CBF-related Baptist Center for Ethics (competing with the SBC Christian Life Commission) is an additional line item for $5,710, (6) The BJCPA is increased from $76,000 to $105,628, (7) Associated Baptist Press and Americans United remain about the same, (8) four new line items appear under the heading "World Mission Initiatives" at least three of which and perhaps the fourth as well parallel CBF causes; these four lines total $627,975 ... very close to the amount the FMB & HMB were cut. Thus the total of all liberal lines comes to $961,989 compared to $151, 000 last year, more than a six fold increase.

World Missions 3 track: A completely new budget track unprecedented in the BGAV or any other state convention. In WM 3 all the money going out of state is directed to the CBF "Vision 2000" budget version. All of that money is spent by the CBF; not a penny goes to the Southern Baptist Convention. Here we see Virginia directly supporting the budget of the new but not-publicly-acknowledged denomination established to attack and compete with the SBC.

Other: The fourth alternative is that a church has the right to select its own state budget. Your church may design, approve by vote of the church, and then instruct the state treasurer to use a completely original budget for the donations sent to Richmond by your church. See the "Virginia Budget: Decision" article in this Banner.