BWA's Growth

The Baptist World Alliance held a historic meeting last week in Ghana, Africa. Neville Callam, a Jamaican pastor and scholar, was elected as the first non-white leader of the organization. This represents the changes occurring within Christianity and demonstrates that the BWA is planning for the future (for more on the importance of picking Callam, see my earlier post here). I am excited that this October the Baptist General Convention of Missouri will host welcome events for Callam. These and other such events across the country will give Baptists a chance to meet Callam and hopefully get excited about the future of the BWA.

An Associated Baptist Press article on the recent BWA meeting noted the following good news:

In business matters, the BWA adopted a 2008 budget of $2.8 million, an increase of nine percent over 2007. Budget officials said growing income from churches and individuals made the increase possible.

This is exciting and shows that the BWA is continuing to grow! Although the Southern Baptist Convention pulled its support a few years ago, the BWA is moving forward and continuing its important work. I am glad that the BGCM has been part of this growth as we were accepted as full members last year. Our executive director, Jim Hill, was present at the meeting in Ghana.