NWBC Executive Board recommends budget with reduced staff

          The Northwest Baptist Convention executive board will propose to messengers at the November annual meeting a $5.1 million budget for 2012, a $140,000 Sylvia Wilson Mission Offering goal for 2012 to support church planting & leadership development efforts and a 2013 calendar of events. In addition, the board elected Frank Shope as Church Planting Catalyst and Region 3 Team Leader. A former NWBC associate executive director, Shope has served since 2007 as a regional team leader for the North American Mission Board.
          The proposed budget anticipates $2,840,000 in Cooperative Program gifts from NWBC churches (unchanged from the current year), $1,729,000 million from NAMB (down 13.5 percent from the current year), $64,000 from LifeWay Christian Resources, $130,000 from the 2011 SWMO and $336,200 from various sources.
          Although the 2012 budget represents a 4.9 percent decrease from the current year’s spending plan, it contains significant line item increases or additions: an additional 1 percent in giving though the SBC Cooperative Program (from 25.5 percent to 26.5 percent of the CP budget), three new church health & leadership development staff positions (funded solely by NWBC), “Oasis” retreat for pastors/spouses, “missions mobilization” for assisting church planting recruitment & partnership development, evangelism training & projects and enlistment of contract workers for preschool/children’s and youth ministries.
          But the budget recommendation also includes noteworthy changes in staffing: eliminating 10 existing field strategist positions (from 23-13) jointly-funded with NAMB and eliminating the equivalent of 3 full-time support staff positions (funded solely by NWBC) at the NWBC Center in Vancouver, WA. For staff remaining, the budget includes a 3 percent cost-of-living increase, additional compensation adjustment for more equitable salary ranges and restoring retirement contributions back to 10 percent of salary levels.
          NWBC executive director Bill Crews, in a document written to the board, stated: “With the immediate and long-term refocusing of the North American Mission Board, we are faced with a strategic decision concerning the nature and shape of our partnership with NAMB. To be sure, the sharp focus on church planting is one that we agree with and plan to pursue. From the beginning of the development of the Strategy for the Renewal of the NWBC, our mission has been “to encourage and empower the churches of the Northwest Baptist Convention toward a spiritual vitality that results in a growing gospel witness and in the continuous planting of healthy, reproducing new churches.” This two-pronged approach to assisting the churches of the NWBC is still the mission of our network of churches and one we intend to pursue vigorously.
          “The challenge before us is that the North American Mission Board, our primary partner, is intent on shifting most of the financial part of the partnership toward the church planting strategy. … the ultimate aim of the partnership is that almost all of their financial contribution will be directed into church planting. The suggested transition could be spread over the next two or three years, but the ultimate goal is that the NWBC would assume the responsibility for funding ministries beyond church planting. NAMB’s resources would be directed almost exclusively into church planting. … In consultation with the Strategic Leadership Team and other NWBC leaders, the counsel was to make these changes in 2012 and begin to actively pursue our mission of assisting our churches in pursuing spiritual vitality and health and partnering with NAMB in the planting of new, healthy reproducing churches.”