The CMBA Administrative Team met Tuesday, March 21, at Shandon Baptist Church to conduct business and share ministry updates. Shandon’s Adult Discipleship Pastor Ed Stewart appeared in CMBA’s Administrative Team Member Spotlight ahead of the meeting.
Administrative Team members heard updates to ongoing CMBA work with churches including evangelism training for senior adults, associational mapping to identify geographical cohorts that will be led by catalyst pastors to develop partnerships for community missions and outreach, and information about an April European vision casting trip to identify an associational partnership. Additional reporting included updates regarding churches that have engaged with CMBA leadership in discussions about their future.
Citing data that reflects 75% of Southern Baptist churches have either plateaued or are declining, Associational Missions Strategist Jamie Rogers told team members that CMBA is seeing similar trends. In a proactive response, several members of the CMBA huddle and administrative teams participated in a recent revitalization training through the North American Mission Board. Processes are being developed to support CMBA churches experiencing plateau and decline.
Team members heard additional reporting from Rogers, who said he plans to encourage the group to regularly discuss new ways churches can engage and partner to share the gospel each time they meet. While challenging team members to “get out of our church silos,” Rogers said the CMBA Family of Churches “are together, and we are supposed to be doing this together.”
Rogers also addressed questions he has received regarding the status of certain associational missions projects that are no longer being supported by CMBA. Saying he is “not looking for more things for our pastors and churches to do,” Rogers said CMBA’s role moving forward is to help communicate about projects the churches have been called to do, and help aid in partnership among churches to further those ministry callings.
“This is partly due to staffing, but also because ministries evolve, others go away, and new ones arise.” Rogers explained.
Team members heard a financial report from CMBA Treasurer Doug Barnett. His report linked to actions brought before participants of the CMBA Executive Board meeting, which was held immediately following the Administrative Team meeting. A transitional budget was proposed for the association to operate under until the CMBA Annual Meeting in October. The budget reflects a realignment of reserve monies and was adjusted in response to the overall decline in church giving. Messengers voted to approve the transitional budget during the Executive Board meeting.
The Administrative Team will reconvene May 16.