Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia

“A Cooperating State Convention of the Southern Baptist Convention”

Vol. IX, No. 10, Nov/Dec 1996

Terry L Harper                                                                                                                                        Colonial Heights Baptist                                                                                                                      231 Chesterfield Avenue

Colonial Heights, VA 23834

Dear Fellow Conservatives

God is at work in Virginia! I have already traveled quite a bit since being elected as your President and what a thrill it is to see how the Lord is moving and working. More churches are deciding to join our new state convention each week. How it blesses my heart to see the excitement not only among our Pastors but with so many of the lay people as well.

I am hearing testimonies from many about how they felt so frustrated for years, but now feel they have a place to stand. I expect a real influx of churches on January 1 when new church budgets take effect. If your church has not dealt with this, please approach your finance (or budget) committee about sending your church’s Cooperative Program dollars through the SBCV in 1997. Remember, we are the only state convention that does a 50/50 split with Cooperative Program dollars. In other words, for every dollar you send to SBCV, $0.50 stays here in the state to do missions and $0.50 goes to the SBC. That means more dollars for the Foreign Mission Board and other SBC ministries.

Many churches have not had time to get this all set up and acted upon by their church. I do commend Dr. Ron Boswell and the Grove Avenue Baptist Church in Richmond who just recently voted to go 100% SBCV. I'm sure that many additional churches will soon follow. For others it will take time, and that's okay. Let me urge you to be patient and take time where necessary to educate your people. Some may need to be dually aligned for a while and split their gifts between the two state conventions. Whatever it takes -- we don't want to be the source of great upheaval in the churches.

We welcome all those churches of like mind that want to join with us in this exciting and fresh new venture. But as I told a reporter after our vote in Richmond, I feel we are forging a new paradigm for a state convention. In doing so we will grow some by churches transferring in, but a primary growth source will be new church starts. Virginia needs hundreds of new churches built on the infallible Word of God. Now, it takes money to start new churches and it takes personnel, but I believe our God has plenty of both.

Again, It is an honor and a joy to serve you as President, and I look forward to all the Lord is going to do. If I can help you or your church in any way, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Terry L. Harper

 President, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia

 Phone (804) 526-0424

 Fax (804) 526-0748

 E-Mail 71153,3677 CompuServe.com