Jefferson City — Members of the Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board authorized collection of a special offering, authorized a building loan and hired three new staffers when they met April 11-12 at the Baptist Building in Jefferson City.
Board members authorized the MBC Historical Commission to collect a special offering on Missouri Baptist Church History Day Aug. 14. Money will be taken up this year and in 2006 to help cover the cost of restoring Old Bethel, the first Baptist church established west of the Mississippi River. Restoration of the building, located near Jackson, is estimated to cost $100,000.
The board also agreed to authorize a $624,000 loan to construct a Baptist Student Union building at Truman State University in Kirksville.
Former MBC president David Tolliver was named Cooperative Program specialist to replace Mike Dennis, who recently retired. The board named Ron Barker as personal evangelism/spiritual awakening specialist and Brian Koonce as a staff writer for The Pathway.
Tolliver, 54, has been pastor of Pisgah Baptist Church, Excelsior Springs, for five years. He was MBC president in 2003-2004.
Tolliver has served on several state and national denominational boards, including a stint on the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee from 1992-2000. He currently is a board member for Southwest Baptist University.
A Gainesville, Ga., native, Barker, 57, has served as minister of evangelism for First Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga., served with the former Home Mission (now North American Mission) Board and was an adjunct professor of ethics at North Georgia College and State University.
Koonce is a senior at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he is editor of the student newspaper. He will begin his duties on June 1.
During their April session, the board also:
–Â Instructed the audit and finance workgroup to work on a policy for handling MBC reserve funds.
–Â Set 2006 budget goals, including Executive Board budget at $17.05 million, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions at $3.75 million, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions at $2 million, Rheuben L. South State Missions Offering at $800,000 and World Hunger Offering at $325,000.
–Â Recommended the first 1 percent of Cooperative Program receipts be used to promote CP.
–Â Moved the board's July 11-12 session from Jefferson City to Hannibal La-Grange College.
(This story is based on reports on The Pathway Web site. Barred from Executive Board meetings since December 2003, Word&Way staffers were not permitted to cover the April session.) (05-05-05)
