Convention Welcomes New Church
The International Baptist Convention at its hybrid 58th Annual Convention Meeting, held 25-27 October, at Faith Baptist Church, Kaiserslautern, Germany, celebrated the family of churches it is and rejoiced at being able to meet again in-person. As part of the three-day meeting, messengers and guests enjoyed a celebration dinner, welcomed a new church, approved a €359,327 budget for next year, and heard reports from General Secretary Tim Faulkner and the five Core Strategy Directors.
Rome International Church was welcomed as a full member in the convention. RIC had been a church plant of one of the convention’s LEAD teams a little more than five years ago.
The convention just completed its first year with the new fiscal year of October-September. Finance Team Leader Bob Hnat reported that giving for the year was at 85% of the budget. The €359,327 approved budget for 2021/22 was a 1.5% decrease from the previous year.
The convention also approved a $50,000 Type 4 grant of the IBC Endowment Fund to the IBC Residency Program. This program has had success for the past two years in helping to train and develop new pastors and church planters. The grant will allow the convention to give grants to churches to help with their resident program. The convention also approved a $20,000 Type 4 grant to provide funds for outsourcing specialized work. During the course of the year, the convention has awarded matching grants to Bridges International Baptist Church, Brasilia, Brazil, for renovations and repairs to its existing buildings.
The convention also heard presentations from the general secretary (see article here) and each of the strategy directors concerning their strategy and plans for the coming year. Darryl Evetts (multiplying churches), Dan Maxton (strengthening churches), David Fresch (empowering leaders), Scott Corwin (building connections), and Judith Lynn Maxwell (developing resources) shared their goals for 2021/22.
The Executive Leadership Team of the convention also presented a statement on women and men in partnership for the gospel and answered questions on the statement. There was no vote. The ELT will continue to answer questions and discuss this topic during the coming year.
During the final business session, Roland Eskinazi, pastor of the International Baptist Church, Brussels, Belgium, was elected as the third president. He joins Nick Howard, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Wiesbaden, Germany, and Erik Nielsen, pastor of the First International Baptist Church, Copenhagen, Denmark, on the Presidential Leadership Team.
Sixty-six messengers from 34 churches as well as more than 20 guests participated in the meeting.
