KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (ABP) -- The board of American Baptists' National Ministries met Nov. 12-13 to consider cuts to cover a $1 million gap between the organization's income and expenses.

According to American Baptist News Service, National Ministries Executive Director Aidsand Wright-Riggins attributed a continuing decline in mission giving to "job losses, home foreclosures and a decline in personal-investment wealth" resulting from a bad national economy.

Aidsand Wright-Riggins is executive director of American Baptist National Ministries.

"National Ministries is very strong financially," Birdsall said. "We are in a position to look ahead and see the warning signs -- and start taking some strategic action and making some difficult choices now -- so that, in the next several years, we don't reach a crisis point."

Birdsall said National Ministries must take immediate steps to increase income and reduce expenses. However, given the poor economy, results may not be apparent before 2010.

Leaders hope to develop a plan to bring expenses in line with income within three to five years without tapping reserve funds.

"As stewards of this organization, as we look at the generations that will come behind us, we want to leave them with a financially strong organization similar to how we found it when we came," Birdsall said.

National Ministries has responsibility for the evangelism, social-justice, discipleship and mission work of the American Baptist Churches USA. The organization works with more than 1,300 mission partners who minister as chaplains and pastoral counselors, refugee sponsors, directors of Christian centers, volunteers and church planters across the United States and Puerto Rico.

American Baptists aren't the only missionary-sending group facing financial challenges. The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention heard finance reports that a press released termed "cautionary."

Meeting Nov. 10-11 in Houston, IMB trustees approved a budget that does not allow any increase in the size of the agency's missionary force. According to Baptist Press, the SBC's news arm, a 2009 budget of nearly $320 million is about $15 million larger than expenditures in 2008, but most of the increase is due to rising costs of keeping missionaries on the field. Southern Baptists expect to appoint enough international missionaries to replace those that leave by attrition.

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Bob Allen ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

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