By Tim Lubinus, BCI Executive Director/Treasurer
Tim Lubinus, BCI Executive Director/Treasurer
Last Saturday our executive board met and finished the final annual review of Baptist Convention of Iowa’s three major ministry areas: Church Starting, Church Support, Community Transformation. We are due for a mid-year update: six months after our annual meeting and six months before our annual meeting. Much has happened. I am grateful to our president, Ken Livingston and the full executive board for their leadership and service. Below are some examples:
Church Planting
- We are on track this year to plant three times as many churches as our ten-year average.
- We have moved toward a part-time church planting catalyst approach. We have five church partnerships and would like to get to ten by the end of 2017. We want to add churches that have vision and strategy to start a new church each year. We also are looking to connect additional churches that would like to partner for church planting. Cornerstone Church in Ames began a partnership directly with NAMB to start churches in university cities throughout the Midwest.
- We are financially supporting twenty full and part-time church planting ministry staff.
Church Support
- We continue to provide support for churches’ small groups and discipleship ministry, actively develop and support our associations, support pastors and churches, manage a system of pulpit supply, and help churches in transition.
- We have two churches that have new pastoral staff and have already started process of restarting.
Community Transformation
- The new Iowa Ministry Fund was launched where we intend to give ten percent of our receipts to support and partner with the ten best ministry organizations across our state. We will continue to give fifty percent to SBC mission entities through the Cooperative Program and now invest forty percent of receipts in BCI ministries.
- The Friendship Baptist Center’s new board was formed and is led by Jon and Mindy Jamison. The center is moving toward becoming an independent ministry in 2017. The BCI continues to be the friendship center’s biggest financial partner and supporter.
- We are moving rapidly toward a partnership with Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention to combine leadership, equipment and other resources to expand Disaster Relief ministry.
Organizational Support
- From October 1 to April 30, our Cooperative Program giving is up 71% from the same period the prior year.
- We have nineteen full and part-time staff. Our staff was mostly mobile, but has now transitioned to be completely mobile. Our office building is up for sale.
- We have transitioned funds in our accounts to realize a projected $50,000 in additional investment income beginning 2017.
I’d say we’ve had a good start to this year. I’m looking forward to seeing what God does during the second half!
As always, we welcome your input, suggestions, and questions. Contact me directly at TLubinus@BCIowa.org.
