New BGCT cooperative giving options outlined
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___The remittance form used by churches to submit financial contributions to the Baptist General Convention of Texas has been simplified and changed in accordance with convention directives of the last two years.
___Changes to the form were worked out by the BGCT Administrative Committee during a three-hour meeting in Dallas Nov. 20.

See graphic of the new remittance form as a pdf file. (This requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.)

___The revised form will be mailed to churches statewide as soon as possible, according to BGCT Treasurer Roger Hall. This form differs from the sample form marked "draft" mailed to churches the first week of November.
___The Administrative Committee took up the remittance form issue in light of two convention actions.
___First, at the 1999 BGCT annual session in El Paso, messengers approved a motion by Jim Kolb of Tyler that the giving options presented on the remittance form be simplified. His motion stated: "I move that the executive director-elect and the newly elected officers of the BGCT immediately begin to work with the Administrative Committee to develop a simplified budget system that is not as confusing as having five budget options, while protecting the right of any church to give as they so choose."
___Second, messengers to this year's BGCT annual session approved by a 3-to-1 margin major funding changes, including provisions that "beginning Jan. 1, 2001, the Cooperative Program money being sent through the BGCT to the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries be redirected through and administered by the Christian Education Coordinating Board and the Theological Education Committee of the BGCT."
___On the revised remittance form, churches desiring to use the Cooperative Program option approved by the convention will check the first box, which is labeled "BGCT 2001 Adopted Budget."
___This option will fund all BGCT ministries, agencies and institutions as well as the SBC's International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and Annuity Board. It will provide up to $1 million annually to the six SBC seminaries and an estimated $4.3 million to three Texas Baptist theological schools--Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio, Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University and Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University.
___The approved option will provide $10,000 to the SBC Executive Committee but no money for the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
___A second option on the remittance form will allow churches to split their gifts, with 67 percent going toward the Texas recipients of the BGCT approved budget and 33 percent going to other worldwide ministries. Churches may check one of three recipients for the 33 percent going to worldwide ministries--SBC, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or "other."
___A third option on the remittance form, titled "Other," will allow churches to create their own percentage distributions. In this place, churches may designate any percentage to the Texas recipients of the BGCT approved budget and/or any other approved worldwide ministry.
___Designations in these categories may include up to five exclusions. For example, a church could give a certain percentage to the SBC budget while excluding particular SBC schools or agencies. Likewise, a church could give a certain percentage to the BGCT budget while excluding certain Texas schools or agencies.
___Aside from Cooperative Program giving, the remittance form will continue to be used for other designated giving as well, such as gifts to the BGCT's Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions, SBC Lottie Moon Offering for international missions and Annie Armstrong Offering for North American missions, the CBF Global Missions Offering and the BGCT's World Hunger Offering.
___Throughout the committee's deliberations, members stressed their goal was to allow every Texas Baptist church to give as the church desires. At the same time, however, committee members wanted to emphasize the "BGCT Adopted Budget" as the preferred method of giving.
___For the first time, the new remittance form stipulates that all gifts will be distributed according to the adopted budget unless another choice is specified.
___Messengers to the convention in Corpus Christi last month did not adopt two budgets but one budget, several committee members stressed.
___"We are duty-bound to honor the vote of that convention," one member said.
___At the same time, messengers affirmed the right of all churches to give according to their own dictates, committee members agreed.
___"We've said over and over and over that we're going to be inclusive. That perception has to go out to our churches," a member said.