The Southern Baptist Convention plans to slowly let go of up to 800 personnel in the International Mission Board (IMB) due to a $21 million shortage in revenue, according to an announcement on Thursday.
"We praise God for the reserves and property sales that made this possible and for leadership which chose to spend these resources for the spread of the Gospel," David Platt, the president of the IMB, told the Baptist Press. "But we cannot continue to overspend. For the sake of short-term financial responsibility and long-term organizational stability we must act."
Missionaries through the IMB are funded an average of some $4,300 per month through the IMB's Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas offering.
Though the IMB states that there has been "increased giving" recently, goals for fundraising have not been met, and the organization has been spending more than what was raised. In 2014, the IMB received some $296 million in income, and it spent about $3 million more in budget (over $299 million), according to financials shown in a 2015 ministry report for the Cooperative Program. Of the income, $91 million was raised through the Cooperative Program, and $175 million was raised through the Lottie Moon Christmas offering.
More than half of the budget in 2014 (over $193 million, or about 65 percent) was spent in personnel.
The IMB stated in FAQs posted on its website that it has considered various other options to make up for the revenue shortfall, including reducing missionary appointments, changing the IMB support structure, and liquidating property. However, it ultimately decided that "the organization cannot arrive at short-term financial responsibility or long-term organizational sustainability without making a major adjustment in its number of missionaries and staff now," the IMB stated.
Continuing to depend on reserves and selling property is not feasible in the long-run "because IMB does not have an endless supply of properties, and there are many complexities involved," the organization of some 4,700 missionaries overseas stated, and added that it's "close to depleting its reserves and must work to restore them to a more responsible level."
There will be two main "phases" to the process, the first of which is called a Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI). Eligible IMB staff can choose to retire at this time and receive financial benefits, the requirements and details of which are planned to be released on September 10 in a Town Hall meeting. Details will also be sent directly to individuals who are eligible for the VRI, after which they will have a minimum of 45 days to decide whether they will take up the offer.
The second phase involves continuing and concluding the organizational reset of leadership and structure that has been taking place since last year, the IMB stated. The process will involve "consolidating support services, recalibrating mobilization, assessing global engagement and re-envisioning training," which the IMB hopes to conclude in six months.
"Ultimately, the goal is to put the IMB in a position to thrive in the future," the organization stated. "With constant dependence on God's Word and continual desperation for God's Spirit, IMB leadership wants the organization to move forward with innovative vision, aggressively exploring how to best mobilize, train, and support limitless missionary teams from churches in North America and the nations to reach the unreached with the gospel."
"I trust in all kinds of ways that God will creatively and sovereignly lead and direct 600 to 800 people in the days to come," Platt told Baptist Press.
