Online ACM: IBC Welcomes 3 New Churches
The International Baptist Convention’s at its online 57th Annual Convention Meeting, held 27-28 October, said farewell to General Secretary Jimmy Martin and welcomed new General Secretary Tim Faulkner. It also welcomed three new churches, approved a €363,432 budget for next year, and heard reports from Martin, Faulkner, and the five Core Strategy Directors.
Middle Eastern Christ Church International in Cairo, Egypt, was welcomed as a full member in the Convention. International Baptist Church, Bonn, Germany (a church plant of Cologne), and United Community Church in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were welcomed as associate members.
Earlier in the year the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and the Finance Team approved a change to the fiscal year of the convention to be 1 October – 30 September. The new fiscal year aligns better with the ministry year of the Convention. The €363,432 approved budget for 2020/21 was a 10.6% decrease from the current year. Finance Team Leader Erik Nielsen reported that giving to-date for 2020 was at 85% of budget.
The convention also approved a $30,000 Type 4 grant of the IBC Endowment Fund to the IBC Residency Program. This program has had success for the past year 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. During the course of the year, the convention has awarded matching grants to Aviano Baptist Church, Italy, and North Sea Baptist Church, Stavanger, Norway, for renovations and repairs to their existing buildings.
The convention also heard presentations from the two general secretaries (see articles on page x and x) and each of the strategy directors concerning their strategy and plans for the coming year. Darryl Evetts (multiplying churches), Barry Cole (strengthening churches), David Fresch (empowering leaders), Scott Corwin (building connections), and Judith Lynn Maxwell (developing resources) shared their goals for 2020/21.
The convention also affirmed the decision by the ELT to have three presidents without designating them as president and vice-presidents. Each would serve for three years with one rotating off each year. During the final business session, Nick Howard, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Wiesbaden, Germany, and Nathanael Fawcett, pastor of Calvary International Church, Sao Paulo, Brazil, were re-elected to the Presidential Leadership Team. Erik Nielsen was elected as the third president and will step down from the Finance Team.
The ACM closed with the installation of Faulkner as general secretary (see articles on page x). The convention said farewell to Jimmy and Laurie Martin in a special celebration on Wednesday after the ACM (see article on page x).
Messengers from 38 churches as well as two church plants and a number of guests participated in the meeting.
