Written by Brian Koonce, reprinted with permission by The Pathway.

During their 188th annual meeting at the St. Charles Convention Center here, Oct. 24-25, messengers of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) elected four new MBC officers.
Coming from 470 Missouri Baptist churches across the state, 1,035 messengers and 226 guests attended the two-day meeting. The theme of the meeting was “Reflecting Christ to a Watching World.”
In their business session, messengers approved MBC Executive Board recommendations and voted to remove two churches deemed to be “theologically incompatible” with the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 (BFM 2000).

Officers elected

Lane Harrison, lead pastor of Lifepoint Church, Ozark, nominated Chris Williams as the Missouri Baptist Convention president. As the only nominee, he was named president by the registration secretary.
Williams, who had been serving as the MBC first vice president, is the pastor of Fellowship Church, Greenwood. Williams earned a Bachelor of Theology from Trinity Bible College, a Master of Science in Christian studies, a Master of Divinity from Calvary Theological Seminary. He is also a Doctor of Ministry in Expository Preaching candidate at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Williams and his wife, Kate, have six children.
There were two nominees for first vice president: Ken Parker, pastor of First Baptist, Kearney, nominated Wesley Vance, executive pastor of Crossway Baptist Church, Springfield. Dan Steinbeck, pastor of Southern Baptist Fellowship, Wayland, nominated Ted Middleton, senior pastor Calvary Heritage Baptist, Columbia.
Messengers cast 571 votes, and Vance won with 461.
Vance had previously been serving on the MBC executive board. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, as well as master’s and doctoral degrees from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Amy, have two children.
Victor Boll, pastor of discipleship/evangelism and mobilization at South Haven Baptist, Belton, nominated Richard Young as second vice president. He was unopposed.
Young is senior pastor at South Haven. He has a Doctor of Ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife have two sons.
Scott Perry, pastor of Temple Baptist Church, Sullivan, nominated Justin Perry, his son, to serve as recording secretary. He was unopposed.
Justin is pastor of First Baptist Church, Viburnum. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Bible from Hannibal La-Grange University, a Master of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctoral degree in leadership from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children.

Executive Board recommendations

In other business, Missouri Baptist Convention messengers approved the MBC’s 2023 CP proposed allocation plan and spending plan, as recommended by the MBC Executive Board.
The MBC’s 2023 spending plan is based on a $15 million Cooperative Program (CP) budget. This budget sets aside 5 percent of the total CP giving for “SBC/MBC shared administration” expenses, which are allocated for annuity protections and The Pathway. The proposed “shared” funds amounted to a total of $750,000.
From the remaining CP budget, 35 percent is allocated for Missouri Baptist missions and ministries. These proposed funds amounted to a total of $5,250,000.
Additionally, 22 percent of the total CP budget is allocated for Missouri Baptist entities, including the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries, the Missouri Baptist Foundation, Hannibal La-Grange University, Missouri Baptist University and Southwest Baptist University. These proposed funds amounted to a total of $3,300,000.
The remaining 38 percent is allocated for Southern Baptist Convention causes. These proposed funds amounted to a total of $5,700,000.
Any CP receipts above the budgetary goal will be split evenly between MBC and SBC ministries.
The Executive Board also recommended that messengers revise Bylaw 2 in the MBC governing documents in order to clarify its language. Messengers approved a revision to the bylaw after calling for an additional amendment allowing for greater local church autonomy in giving through the MBC.

Two churches disfellowshipped

At the recommendation of the MBC credentials committee, messengers disfellowshipped two churches – namely, Christ Deliverance Ministry in St. Louis and Meadow Heights Church in Fredericktown – because the committee deemed them “theologically incompatible” with the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 (BFM 2000).
In particular, the committee reported these churches are theologically incompatible with Article 6 of the BFM 2000, where it states “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”