The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s board of directors approved a proposed 2027 Cooperative Program budget, a proposed change in the convention’s relationship with the Biblical Recorder and several proposed changes to the convention’s bylaws during a meeting held Sept. 28-29 at Caraway Conference Center and Camp.

All three measures will now go before messengers for consideration at this year’s N.C. Baptist annual meeting, scheduled for Nov. 16-17 in Greensboro.

The proposed $29,139,500 budget would divide Cooperative Program receipts equally between N.C. Baptist ministries and global ministry partners. In other budget-related actions, the board approved a proposal that calls for Cooperative Program receipts above the 2027 budget be allocated between N.C. church planting and missions engagement initiatives. Additionally, the board approved a proposed $2.8 million goal for the 2027 North Carolina Missions Offering that would keep the allocations at 62% for N.C. Baptists on Mission ministries, 28% to church planting and 10% to associational missions projects. All budget-related proposals were approved unanimously.

The board also unanimously approved a recommendation that would transition the Biblical Recorder (BR) from a separate legal entity to an integrated ministry of the state convention. Under the recommendation, the BR would retain its brand identity, editorial freedom and historic purpose as a news journal for N.C. Baptists.

The BR’s board of directors had already approved the measure in a unanimous vote during a special called meeting on Sept. 8. A year ago, the BR board requested the formation of a study committee to explore a more permanent relationship between the BR and state convention.

The Articles and Bylaws Special Committee proposed a series of changes to the convention’s bylaws that fell into four broad categories. Those categories included: updating the documents to reflect the proposed change in the convention’s relationship with the Biblical Recorder; removing references to N.C. Baptist Hospital, which is no longer formally a related entity to the convention; allowing trustees of the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina and Provision Financial Resources to serve two consecutive terms on those respective boards; and reducing the overall size of the state convention’s board of directors.

The bylaw changes were initially presented to the board as a single recommendation. Board members voted to consider the proposed reduction in board size separately and unanimously approved the other three categories of changes.

The board-size proposal, which would cap the board at 40 members, down from its current membership of 73, generated discussion before it was ultimately approved 41-16. Current bylaws set no limit on the board’s size. The smaller board would include 35 at-large members and five ex officio voting members.

Under the proposal, each of the convention’s 10 geographic regions would continue to have proportional representation and a minimum of at least one at-large member. As under the current bylaws, additional seats would be assigned based on church membership, though they would be allocated by each region’s share of statewide church membership rather than one seat for every 10,000 members. The changes would be phased in as current board members’ terms expire.

The Articles and Bylaws Special Committee began studying the board’s size in 2024 and surveyed board members about their engagement in 2025. In recommending the proposed changes, bylaw committee members referenced research and data suggesting that a smaller board would encourage more meaningful engagement on mission and strategy, strengthen oversight and accountability, minimize logistical challenges, and reduce expenses on lodging, food and travel costs for meetings. 

During discussion, some board members argued for keeping the current board composition formula to allow more N.C. Baptists to participate in convention leadership. Others supported a smaller board due to the ongoing difficulty of finding N.C. Baptists willing to serve and bylaw provisions that ensure fair geographic and church-size representation. 

Officers elected

Board members elected Jared Richard, senior pastor of Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh, as board president for the coming year. Richard was nominated by Jerry Lewis, lead pastor of Grace Community Church in Marion, and ran unopposed.

Will Toburen, lead pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, was elected vice president over Keith Hudson, associational mission strategist for the Neuse Baptist Association in LaGrange, by a vote of 38-25, or 60.3% to 39.7%. Toburen was nominated by Justin Alexander, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, and Hudson was nominated by Jimmy Dale, pastor of Mount Nelson Baptist Church in Eureka.

Gabe Magan, a member of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, was elected board secretary without opposition. He was nominated by Jacob Reed, children’s pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Youngsville.

Executive director’s report

Todd Unzicker, executive director-treasurer of N.C. Baptists, celebrated a fruitful summer of missions and ministry, which included record attendance of 13,926 at the convention’s summer camps where 668 salvations were recorded.

Unzicker also previewed ReachNC, a new evangelism and baptism emphasis he plans to unveil at the annual meeting in November. The initiative aims to encourage N.C. Baptist churches to pray toward collectively recording N.C. Baptists’ highest number of baptisms in a single year by 2033, which will mark the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus giving the Great Commission.

The effort comes as leaders of other state conventions have rallied around a similar goal of record-setting baptisms by 2033.

Other business

The board approved three nominees made by Fruitland Baptist Bible College’s Nominating Committee to serve on the school’s board of directors. They were: Noah Crowe of Peachtree Memorial Baptist Church in Murphy; Josh Fraley of Euto Baptist Church in Marshville; and Jesse Peters of Naples Baptist Church in Hendersonville.  

Board members also voted to approve two measures presented by the Operations Special Committee. The first ratified the transfer of ownership of the Spruce Pine Rebuild Center property from the convention to N.C. Baptists on Mission. The second granted the Town of Cary a permanent utility easement on a 6,345-square-foot parcel of land in the woods behind the N.C. Baptist office building in Cary so the town can access water and sewer lines. The convention will retain ownership of the land and receive a little more than $34,000 from the town in the transaction.

The committee also informed the board that the convention had assumed ownership of Camp Mundo Vista from the Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC). Leaders from WMU-NC approached the convention about acquiring the property, and leaders from both organizations had been in talks for several months. The convention has already managed Mundo Vista’s day-to-day operations through Caraway Conference Center and Camp under an agreement established in 2019.

Ministry reports

Two years after Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina, N.C. Baptists on Mission reported that volunteers have rebuilt 1,195 homes since the storm, with hundreds more in the pipeline. On Sunday, Sept. 27, the day before the board meeting began, Baptists on Mission leaders, state and local government officials, and others marked the actual two-year anniversary of Helene by dedicating a new rebuild center in Marion, which will serve as hub for ongoing rebuild efforts in western North Carolina.

Board members also received a financial report showing Cooperative Program receipts totaling nearly $18.6 million through Aug. 31, which is about 3.4% ahead of the same period last year. Additionally, gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions totaled nearly $6.4 million, gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions totaled more than $11.3 million and gifts to the North Carolina Missions Offering totaled nearly $783,000 through the same time period.

Marty Jacumin, interim president of Fruitland Baptist Bible College, shared an update with board members about the school’s recent graduation, current enrollment and ongoing efforts to position the institution for the future as the search for a permanent president continues. Following Jacumin’s report, N.C. Baptist board member Josh Evans, who is also serving on Fruitland’s presidential search committee, told the board that the committee is encouraged by the candidates it has received and continues to make progress in its work.

Recognitions

The board recognized Jimmy Huffman, longtime director of Caraway Conference Center and Camp, who is retiring at the end of the year. Huffman joined the Caraway staff in 1999 and will have served as director for 20 years when he retires.

Twenty board members were also recognized for completing their terms of service. They were: Jonathan Barbee of Bethesda Baptist Church in Durham; Roy “Tripp” Biggerstaff of Lavonia Baptist Church in Mooresboro; Betsy Bolick of Perkinsville Baptist Church in Boone; Lon Chenowith of Liberty Baptist Church in Ellenboro; Jeffrey Collins of Cool Springs Baptist Church in Elkin; Justin Deeter of Redemption Church at New Hope in Wilson; Caleb Duvick of Two Cities Church in Winston-Salem; Josh Evans of Crabtree Baptist Church in Clyde; Josh Fraley of Euto Baptist Church in Marshville; Gloria Hawks of Crosspointe Baptist Church in Concord; Robert Hefner of Pleasant Garden Baptist Church in Pleasant Garden; Dale Hendricks of Shady Grove Baptist Church in Cherryville; Jeff Holder of West Canton Baptist Church in Canton; Duronda Hood of First Baptist Church of Murphy; Andrew Ivester of Faith Baptist Church in Durham; Dale Kinley of First Baptist Church of Cooleemee; Devon Varnam of Southport Baptist Church in Southport; George Whitmire of Harris First Baptist Church in Forest City; Steven Williams of Berry Chapel Church in Spruce Pine; and Jonathan Yarboro of Mercy Hill Church in Greensboro. Hefner also received a special recognition for his service as board president.

Next meeting

The next N.C. Baptist board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 25-26, 2027, at Caraway Conference Center and Camp.

By Chad Austin, BR Managing Editor

EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared on brnow.org.