Richmond, Virginia
December 7, 1967
The Foreign Mission Board met in regular monthly session on Thursday, December 7,
1967 at 3:00 p.m., in the Chapel of the Foreign Mission Board, with Dr. W. Morris
Ford, the Board's president, presiding.
PRESENT: Local Members : Wade Bryant, J. Roy Clifford, Curtis English, Joseph Flowers,
V. Allen Gaines, David S. Hammock, J. Leonard Moore, John L. Moran, Lucius Polhill,
Hunter Riggins, D. 0. Rose, John Kincheloe, Jr., Edwin Shattuck, Dalton Ward, John
C. Williams, James E. Rayhorn, Mrs. R. B. Carter, Robert T. Marsh, Meredith K.
Roberson. State Members : W. Morris Ford, Barney Bayles, David Hause, Virgil Clark,
Milton Collum. Staff: Baker J. Cauthen, Rogers Smith, Frank K. Means, Cornell
Goerner, Winston Crawley, J. D. Hughey, Jesse Fletcher, Eugene L. Hill, Floyd H.
North, Claude Rhea, Joseph B. Underwood, Harold Basden, William K. Dawson, E. L.
Wright, E. L. Deane, Norman Price, Fon H. Scofield, Bill Marshall, Truman Smith,
Edna Frances Dawkins, lone Gray, Elizabeth Minshew.
Dr. Morris Ford called the meeting to order.
The Board's minutes for the month of November were approved.
The meeting was opened with the singing of the hymn: "0 Come, All Ye Faithful."
Dr. Wade Bryant led in prayer.
Dr. Cauthen extended a warm welcome to Dr. Ford and paid special tribute to him as
the newly elected president of the Board.
Dr. Cauthen made a formal presentation of Dr. Claude Rhea to the Board. Dr. Rhea
was elected to the Board's staff in April 1967, as Consultant in Church Music and
in October 1967, his title became Consultant in Church Music and Mass Communications.
Dr. Cauthen called attention to the December meeting as the last one in 1967. This
would be a significant meeting at which time the number of new appointees for mis¬
sionary service would bring the number of appointments for the year to a total of 223.
Dr. Cauthen gave the report of the Executive Secretary.
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
We have come to the final meeting of the Board for 1967 with grateful hearts for our
Lord's leadership. It has been a year of blessings as the forward thrust in mission¬
ary outreach has continued.
The number of missionary appointments in all categories has reached the total of 223.
Never before in the history of the Board has this number been exceeded. It is of
great significance that this large number of appointments has been made while main¬
taining high standards of missionary service.
In recent years, auxiliary types of missionary service have been designed in addi¬
tion to the permanent corps of long-range missionary appointees.
We moved very gradually into the matter of any type of auxiliary appointments because
we recognized the imperative nature of strengthening the main stream of permanent
missionary staff.
The work of missionary associates and missionary journeymen has been so construc¬
tive that we have felt justified in the steps which have been taken in these develop¬
ments. There is reason for gratitude that these categories of missionary service
have been opened and that the Lord has led such able people to function in them.
The basic plan calls for auxiliary categories not to exceed 10% of the total mission¬
ary staff. This arrangement is fully supported by the entire administration, as it
is recognized both by those in the Personnel Department and in the area administra¬
tion that it is essential that we do not have such a large amount of turnover on
mission fields occasioned by short-range appointments as to produce instability.
By maintaining a level not to exceed 10% of total missionary appointments, there
will be no danger of instability occurring. The main stream of missionary appoint¬
ments will continue to be the center around which all auxiliary programs will be
related .
The forward thrust in missionary outreach is conditioned upon spiritual and financial
resources increasing on a steady basis.
