Colorado breaks baptisms record
By Karen L. Willoughby
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado Baptists nearly doubled the number of baptisms this year, and much of the increase comes from college campuses, says Executive Director Mike Proud.
The stats came out during the Oct. 14-15 annual meeting of the Colorado Baptist General Convention (CBGC) at Vista Grande Baptist Church, with a theme of “Gospel Faithfulness in a Skeptical Age,” taken from 1 Peter 3:15.
“We first saw this last year in Longs Peak (Baptist) Association,” Proud said of the region northeast of Denver. The year “2022 was a record year, and 2023 broke the record by 50 more.”
The 550 baptisms across Colorado in 2022 grew to 1,046 in 2023.
“They’ve got a lot more impact into colleges there, seeing more students get connected with Christian Challenge,” akin to Baptist Campus Ministries in other states. “Same thing in Grand Junction,” Proud continued. “It’s a very exciting thing.”
The 68th annual meeting of CBGC included the second annual missions festival highlighting the diversity of Colorado, where at least 25 languages are spoken in the state’s 365 churches. Several of the international churches served food native to their homeland during the two-hour event after the pastors’ and women’s pre-meeting sessions.
New this year: several breakout sessions Tuesday morning, including “Living Clean in an X-rated World,” “When Expectations Meet Reality in a Ministry Marriage,” “Many Churches, One Building,” “Becoming One Church in Many Languages” and several others, each led by a Colorado pastor or leader.
Annual meeting guest speakers included J.T. English, pastor of Storyline Church in Arvada; Zack Thurmon, pastor of Overland Church in Fort Collins; and Executive Director Mike Proud. Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee, spoke during the pastors’ conference Monday afternoon. Angela Waitley, with Cross My Heart Ministries, spoke during the women’s gathering.
Of the 245 total present, 190 were messengers.
“We had as sweet a spirit and as united a spirit as we’ve ever had,” Proud told Baptist Press. “It was a great meeting, with lots of fellowship and connections.”
The business consisted of approving the 2025 budget, revisions to amendments in the constitution and bylaws, one resolution and reelecting officers.
With an anticipated $2,116,107 in Cooperative Program (CP) giving from Colorado churches, messengers passed the 2025 budget of $2,491,790, an increase of $82,371 from last year. Thirty percent of the total — $669,669 — is allocated for the SBC’s national and international missions and ministries.
Colorado Baptists have given $81 million to missions through the Cooperative Program since the state convention’s founding in 1956, according to its annual Book of Reports.
“Partnership through the Cooperative Program is the foundation for all ministry that happens here in Colorado,” Proud said. “It is the lifeblood of our work in this state.”
Rick Ackerman, Colorado’s director of strategies and operations, told messengers and guests that “81% of your Cooperative Program giving goes directly to support Colorado Baptist churches, Colorado Baptist ministries, church planting in North America, SBC seminaries and reaching the world for Jesus!”
Proud told Baptist Press, “We were very excited about the money that stays in Colorado. More churches have come on board as a result of having regional directors who are making connections.”
Seven churches became affiliated with CBGC over the last year. The Send Network has 49 church planters in the state, including 29 sent by Colorado churches. Another 10 are in process, with nine being sent from the state’s Southern Baptist churches. Three of the church plants are on college campuses: in Fort Collins, Greeley and Grand Junction.
The amendment revisions were to adjust wording to “latest revision of the Baptist Faith and Message.”
The sole resolution was to express gratitude to Vista Grande Baptist Church for hosting the state convention’s annual meeting.
The CBGC reelected the following officers for 2025: President Greg Teel, Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Delta; First Vice President Jack Jarrett, Pastor of Garden Ranch Baptist Church in Colorado Springs; Second Vice President Zack Thurman, Pastor of Overland Church in Fort Collins; and Clerk Kelly Gandy, a member at Cross Fellowship Church in Palmer Park.
The 69th annual meeting of the Colorado Baptist General Convention is set for Oct. 13-14, 2025, at New Life Fellowship in Rifle, on the Western Slope.
Nevada cuts its national CP giving in half
By Karen L. Willoughby
RENO, Nevada — Messengers from Baptist churches from across the state of Nevada gathered for their 45th annual meeting. “Church on Mission” was the theme of the meeting and Acts 1:8 was the Scripture.
Worship was led again this year by “The Collective,” a group of about a dozen Nevada worship leaders who together bring a deep sense of worship to the proceedings. Messages were brought by Ken Hansen, pastor of Silver Hills Community Church in Carson City; Josh Teis, pastor of Southern Hills Church in Las Vegas; and Kyle Bueermann, rural specialist for the North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) Replant team.
A Monday afternoon workshop on NAMB’s Evangelism Toolkit, Monday evening barbecue meal provided by NAMB, a Tuesday afternoon discussion on the value and distinctives of rural church ministry, and reports about national entities by Nevada representatives of the entities comprised the rest of the activities related to the annual meeting.
“In a world filled with division, our goal has been to build bonds of peace and understanding, focusing on our shared mission to glorify God and spread the gospel,” Damian Cirincione told messengers in his executive director’s report.
“The heart of our mission has been the desire to see our pastors lead their churches in effective discipleship and calling out the called to further plant churches in our state, reach their communities and mobilize their people to serve,” Cirincione continued. “Together we are stronger.”
The focus of this year’s annual meeting was the shared responsibility to impact lostness in the state of Nevada, Cirincione told Baptist Press.
Messengers this week voted to decrease Nevada’s Cooperative Program (CP) percentage from a 50/50 percentage split to 75/25. Shortfalls in CP giving as well as increased investment in in-state initiatives forced Nevada’s messengers to make this decision.
“These are challenging times for us here in the Nevada Baptist Convention (NBC),” said state convention president Steve Witt Oct. 15 at South Reno Baptist Church. “We’ve not met our budget for the last five years.”
A similar motion last year had failed, but that only made the state convention’s long-term financial condition worsen, said Tony Forehand, chairman of the finance committee, and pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Las Vegas.
Forehand called Bryan Weeks, a CPA and member of the finance committee, to explain the budget situation. Weeks noted there has been a 14% decrease in Cooperative Program giving, the result of a 22% inflation rate, plus Nevada’s “shadow economy,” which lags behind the rest of the nation, and decisions made at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee over recent years, which caused some Nevada churches to leave the SBC and others to decrease their giving or bypass the state to give directly to the national entities of their choice.
An amendment to the motion to approve the budget called for a 60/40 percentage split in Cooperative Program giving, rather than the suggested 75/25, but after respectful and lengthy discussion the amendment failed. Another amendment to approve the proposed budget passed with the proviso that an ad hoc task force review the state convention leaders’ plan to increase Cooperative Program giving.
The $847,557 budget for 2025 — and the 25% of CP giving going to the SBC’s national and international mission causes — is to start with the fourth quarter of 2024, with $248,406 coming from reserves in the next budget year to make up the shortfall. Of the $775,468 anticipated from Nevada churches’ CP giving, $193,867 is earmarked for national and international SBC causes.
In 2014, Nevada became the first state convention in the West to increase its CP to 50%. It had been 35%.
“We hope to return to that percentage in coming years, but for now we have a fiduciary responsibility to steward our resources well and ensure Nevada churches are our priority,” Cirincione said. “In 2019 the NBC roughly lost $460,000 in revenue and just has not recovered since that time.”
The business of the state convention meeting consisted of the budget, three resolutions and election of officers. Powerful worship during the Monday and Tuesday sessions reminded the 142 attendees — including 110 messengers from 49 of Nevada’s 171 churches — the real reason for why the convention gathers each fall.
The resolutions included “deep appreciation” to South Reno Baptist Church for its hospitality; appreciation and commendation to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers and agencies for their efforts during the recent hurricanes; and “thanks to God” for the Cooperative Program, committing to continued support for it.
Steve Witt, pastor of The Well Church in Henderson, was reelected president. Jim Disbro, pastor of First Baptist Church of Battle Mountain, was elected vice president.
The 46th annual meeting of the Nevada Baptist Convention is set for Oct. 13-14, 2025, at Southern Hills Church in Las Vegas.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.)
