Welcome Benji and The Great Commission Resurgence

I am excited to welcome Benji Van Fleet to Bruner's Chapel Baptist Church!  I want to encourage the church to keep Benji in your prayers as he works with our students. I pray that God blesses Benji with a fruitful ministry to our students!

I am writing this article from Orlando where we will be voting in a few minutes on the Great Commission Resurgence. Since there has been some confusion over the GCR, I would like to bring some clarity to the issue. The following are the seven reccomendations of the Great Commision Resurgence summarized: 

1. Getting the Mission Right

SUMMARY: In the first recommendation, the Task Force encourages the Convention to adopt the following mission statement: As a convention of churches, our missional vision is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations.

2. Making Our Values Transparent

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that Southern Baptists seek a healthy culture within the Convention by committing to the following core values: Christ-likeness, Truth, Unity, Relationships, Trust, Future, Local Church, Kingdom.

3. Celebrating and Empowering Great Commission Giving

SUMMARY: The Task Force affirms the Cooperative Program as the central means of mobilizing our churches and extending our reach. The Task Force also encourages Southern Baptists to celebrate the total dollar amount given to Southern Baptist causes (such as the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offerings) . Churches will report “Great Commission Giving” by recording their gifts through the Cooperative Program as well as their gifts to other Southern Baptist causes.

4. Reaching North America

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that the North American Mission Board (NAMB) prioritize church planting in metropolitan areas and among under-served people groups. Currently, 2/3 of CP dollars are directed to 1/3 of the population. In order to penetrate the lostness in other areas of North America, the Cooperative Agreements between NAMB and the state conventions should be phased out within seven years so as to free up NAMB for a new pattern of strategic partnership and effectiveness in church planting.

5. Reaching Unreached and Underserved People Groups within North America

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that the IMB be free to focus on underserved people groups wherever they may be found. Since large numbers of many of these people groups now reside in U.S. cities, the IMB should be free to work alongside NAMB in utilizing its linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to penetrate the lostness among these people groups, regardless of geographical location.

6. Promoting the Cooperative Program and Elevating Stewardship

SUMMARY: The Task Force recommends that responsibility of promoting the Cooperative Program among local churches be transferred from the Executive Committee to the state conventions. The Executive Committee would work with the state conventions in developing a strategy for encouraging churches to increase participation and giving to the Cooperative Program.

7. The Call of the Nations and the SBC Allocation Budget

SUMMARY: Currently, 50% of all Cooperative Program funds received by the Southern Baptist Convention go to the IMB. The Task Force recommends that the Convention increase this number to 51% by decreasing by 1% the budget for Facilitating Ministries. The purpose of this reallocation is to make a statement about the need to reduce denominational infrastructure and strengthen our commitment to reach the nations.

May God guide the leadership of our convention to greater effectiveness towards fulfilling the Great Commission.

- Bro. Dave