Foreign Mission Board Rooms
October 11, 19b9
The Foreign Mission Board met in semi-annual session on Tuesday night,
October 11, 19li9 at 7:30 in the chapel of the First Baptist Church.
Mr. Jenkins presided.
Dr. John H. Buchanan gave the devotional.
The following were present at either the evening or the morning
session:
State Members: John H. Buchanan, Alabama; M. Ray McKay, Arkansas;
M. P. German, D. G.; R. Kelly White, Florida; R. C. Gresham, Georgia;
Elwin L. Ski las, Kentucky; W. A. Bell, Mississippi; Vernon B.
Richardson, Maryland; Dotson M. Nelson, Jr., Missouri; Ralph A.
Herring, North Carolina; R. Knolan Benfield, North Carolina; J. I.
Rawlins on, South Carolina; Grady Cothen, Oklahoma; R. Bradley Jones,
Tennessee; 0. E. Turner, Tennessee; A. Hope Owen, Texas; C. S.
McKinney, Texas;
С.
E. Hereford, Texas; R. P. Downey, Virginia.
Visitors: H. J. Schweinsburg, J. Alex Herring.
Local Members: T. Rupert Coleman, Solon B. Cousins, Clyde V.
Hickerson; L. Howard Jenkins, Mrs. Paul LaRoque, Garis T. Long; J. G.
Loving, W. Rush Loving, R. C. McDanel, Hill Montague, Emmett Y.
Robertson, Mrs. T. W. Smith, H. P. Thomas, Elmer V/est.
Staff; M. T. Rankin, Everett Gill, Jr., Frank K. Means, Josef
Nordenhaug, Samuel E- Maddox, Edna Frances Dawkins, Lo-ois P. Seay, Nan
F. Vfeeks, Maiy M. Hunter, Marjorie E. Moore, E. P. Buxton, Gene Greer.
Dr. Rankin gave the following report:
IN BIG BUSINESS WITH GOD
The Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is in big
business with God. Big business involves big resources, big planning,
and big figures. Without the courage and faith to think and plan in
big terms, there can be no big business. This is just as true with
reference to the Kingdom of God as it is with reference to the kingdom
of industrial affairs.
This report to the Foreign Mission Board is in terms of big figures.
And it is proper that it be so, for we are in global business with God.
We represent six and a half million followers of the Lord Jesus Christ
who profess their faith in God's gospel for the whole world.
We are presenting a budget that deals in large figures. The overall
operations of the Foreign Mission Board in 1950 will amount to a mini¬
mum of $5, 250,000. The total budget consists of two main divisions,
the recurring operating budget amounting to $3,253,917-^0, and the
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering which in 191:8 reached $1,670.00. At
this meeting of the Board, we are considering the operating budget,
which the Administrative Committee will recommend for appropriation
by the Board.
Appropriations from the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering are made on re¬
quests which are approved by the missions on the field and which are
recommended by the area secretaries of the Board for adoption by Woman's
Missionary Union.
Payments from the operating budget to be adopted by the Board will be
made in twenty-seven different countries of the world, ,/e have mission¬
aries in twenty-four of these. In these countries $385,000 will be
spent for direct evangelism in connection with churches and evange¬
listic services of one kind or another. $21:6,000 will go for schools,
