Foreign Mission Board
March 8, 1962
The Foreign Mission Board met in regular monthly session at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday,
March G, 1962, with Mr. Jenkins presiding.
Present : T. F. Adams, Joseph P. Edmondson, J. Levering Evans, Horace Ford, Stuart
Grizsard, Josia'n Hoover, Mrs. Clyde V. Mickerson, L. Howard Jenkins, W. Rush
Loving, J. Walter Martin, Ryland 0. Reamy, Meredith Roberson, Emmett Y. Robertson,
Herman P. Thomas, James Todd, Mrs. John C. Tyree, C. Bailey Jones, S. Lewis Morgan,
Baker J. Cauthen, Rogers M. Smith, Frank K. Means, Franklin T. Fowler, Everett L.
Deane, Ralph A. Magee, Elmer S. West, Jr., Edna Frances Dawkins , Bill 3. Cody,
Luke ,B. Smith, Jesse C. Fletcher, Eugene L. Hill, Fon H. Scofield, Jr., lone Gray,
Floyd
П.
North, William M. Dyal , Mary E. Fuqua.
On the motion of Mrs. Ricker son, the following candidates were appointed as
missionaries :
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Lee Dietrich, Thailand - Special Appointees
Mr. and Mrs. Marry Dee Griffin, Japan - Special Appointees
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel McFall James, Vietnam
Mr. and Mrs. Walter James Moorhead, Philippines
Mr. and Mrs. Will J. .Roberts, East Africa
Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Carmen Cchochler, North Brasil
Each candidate gave a brief testimony of his Christian experience and call to
mi s s ionary se rvic e .
Dr. Cauthen gave the charge to the new missionaries and presented Certificates
of Appointment.
The Rev. L. R. Jordan led in the prayer Vtf dedication.
Dr. Cauthen gave the following report:
REPORT OF EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
The meeting of the Board today is significant in that we are appointing our
first group of missionaries for 1962. We anticipate a splendid year of appoint¬
ments, and are grateful for the men and women who are responding to the impres¬
sions from their Lord for missionary service.
Dr. Goerne r and Dr. Crawley are both in their areas of responsibility for vital
visits. Dr. Goerner is today .-isiting G&za . He has made significant journeys
throughout Africa and an emergency trip to Spain to look into matters needing
attention. Dr. Crawley has been in several of the Orient missions particularly
giving attention to Japan in view of the plans being laid for evangelistic
efforts in 1963.
During recent days the reports for 1361 of Baptist giving have now been made
available. During 1961 total Baptist giving climbed to an unprecedented height
with the sum of $500,000,000 total gifts for the year reported by the churches .
This was an increase of more than $20,000,000 over the preceding year.
While funds given for missions climbed to a new height in 1961, we do well to
notice that the percentage of this great amount of money which left the churches
for mission work beyond themselves declined to 16.65. We can understand this
decline when we recall that in the last six years $1,000,000,000 of new property
value was added in the churches. It is reported by Baptist statisticians that
it took 108 years to accumulate church building investments of one billion
dollars, but in the last six years a second billion dollars of property value
has been added.
It is when we look at the percentage of total Baptist giving retained for use
in the churches that we can rightly interpret the slow growth of the Cooperative
Program throughout 1961 which caused considerable concern in Baptist ranks.
Baptists gave more money, but we retained a larger portion of what was given for
use in the churches than ever in our history. This meant a smaller percentage
of the money left the churches to be shared with the rest of the world through
the Cooperative Program.
We are grateful, however, that in January and February of 1S62 there has been a
marked increase in the amount of money given through the Cooperative Program.
These two months indicate an increase of 15.18 per cent above the two -month mark
of one year ago.
