Tuesday Morning - Sunday School and Missionary Committees

 First, there is no way for me to possibly report adequately on the 88 missionaries who participated in missionary share time last night. There are some incredible things going on! Several churches will be organizing in the next few months, souls are being saved, lives are being changed, and Christ is being glorified through His churches. The session ran from 7 PM until a little after 10 PM, but it was well worth attending. Particularly inspiring were the missionaries who invited us to stand and stretch!

Baptist Sunday School Committee

Some highlights: The BSSC is recommending no price increase on literature, and proposing a 3% raise for writers and the editor-in-chief, a 5% raise for the business manager (who has not received a raise since 2017), and a 3% increase in staff budget for employees to be allocated as appropriate. Obviously, a 3% raise or a 5% raise is actually a pay cut in the face of raging inflation, but this is what the committee and the leadership of Bogard Press believed was appropriate at this time. The business manager is also recommended to receive a $7500 bonus for his work. 

More specifics: The Bogard Press has been steadily improving their operations, reducing waste and streamlining processes. They are launching Kindle quarterlies, Bible Challenge II, and several other exciting initiatives. A new digital press will continue to expand Bogard Press's capabilities. Daily Devotionals are being reformatted to include more voices. There is an overall move to modernization and streamlining that is 

While literature prices are not being increased right now, it is important to remember that the messengers have already given the BSSC the authorization to increase prices in an emergency to respond to rising material costs. 

COVID substantially affected sales, but improvements to efficiency and the forgiven PPP loans have allowed Bogard Press to stay in a strong financial position. Sales have now recovered to about 80% of their level before the pandemic, and this is expected to be the new baseline from which the press will need to find new customers.

Missions Committee

Some highlights: All missionaries were recommended except Brother David Manary (on designated funds to Romania - details below). Brother Furlong Ussher's (national missionary in Belize moved from designated funds to salary) sending church reduced the requested salary from $1600 to $500. A 3% raise will be recommended (at full salary that is $119 per month for a total gross salary of $4,075).

More details: Brother Manary is on designated funds for Romania, but has moved to Searcy and is starting a church there. He was not at the meeting, but sent a message indicating that he is still working in Romania digitally, and will be here for the next 3 years getting medical care for his daughter unavailable in Romania. A separate vote will be held Wednesday in the main session. If these are all approved, the monthly missions budget will be approximately $204k (adjusting Brother Stewart's report here). That is about a $9k increase over last year. Last year, the missions office had a surplus of $95,584 - basically $8k per month - because of the $325k Thanksgiving offering. If all things remain equal, that would result in a $12k annual deficit, but the missions account holds almost $2.5 million dollars. The Missionary Committee finished its work in the morning session and did not need the afternoon meeting. 

In a few hours I will be back to report on the afternoon session!

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