Arizona Southern Baptists have agreed to restructure
their convention, streamlining the staff and reorder- ing the way the
denomination carries out its work in the state.
Arizona Southern Baptists have agreed to restructure
their convention, streamlining the staff and reorder- ing the way the
denomination carries out its work in the state.
The changes all were approved by more than two-thirds of messengers
to a called convention session last month and became effective at the first
of this month.
Under the approved plans:
The state convention structure and staff
will be streamlined, with the Arizona Church Growth Board and Arizona State
Mission Board dissolved at the end of last month. Dismantling those boards means
the termination of 16 employees, with another five cut from the state convention
staff.
The state convention changes its relationship with
Arizona Baptist Childrens Services. The convention will no longer own
and operate any agencies but will relate to the child services agency through
a cooperative agreement. The agencys board of trustees will become a self-perpetuating
board but is committed to remaining Southern Baptist. Convention messengers
also approved cooperative agreements with Baptist Senior Life Ministries, Golden
Gate Seminary and the California Baptist Foundation, which has an estate planning
office in Arizona.
Cooperative agreements will be negotiated with
the 14 associations. The state convention will provide resources and assistance
to help support the strategy of each association, which will be determined by
local churches.
The state Executive Board is replaced by a 35-member
Convention Council, which was elected by messengers.
Five staff “resource facilitators” in
church planting, church ministry and church evangelism will work with the executive
director and the Convention Council to negotiate and resource the cooperative
agreements.
Funding apparently is increased for the Southern
Baptist Cooperative Program. A six-month transitional budget calls for 25 percent
of Cooperative Program receipts from Arizona Baptist churches to be forwarded
through the Southern Baptist Convention. Previously, 20 percent of Arizona Cooperative
Program funds had been forwarded through the Southern Baptist Convention.
Funding increases for the Arizona Regional Campus of Golden Gate
Baptist Theological Seminary. The transition budget moves the facility to annual
funding of $250,000, fulfilling a convention commitment made last year. (BP)