NAMB corrects error in data it shared with GCR Task Force

Due to a NAMB error, page 19 of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Progress Report (above) misreported how missionaries are distributed across the United States. Instead of 3,515 missionaries throughout 14 states in the South and Southwest (blue states), there are 2,573. Instead of 1,735 throughout the rest of the US (red states), there are 2,733.

Page 19 of the Progress Report depicts how Southern Baptist resources are distributed throughout the United States. That data indicates that at the end of 2008 there were 3,515 missionaries serving in the 14 states most often considered to be the area where Southern Baptists are the strongest and only 1,735 missionaries serving in the remaining states across the US. In the GCRTF report the 14 states are depicted in blue and the others in red.

In actuality, within the US there were 2,573 missionaries serving in the 14 blue states in 2008 and 2,733 serving in the remaining red states. This indicates a disbursement of 48 percent of NAMB missionaries serving in blue states and 52 percent serving red states. Another 133 NAMB missionaries serve in Canada. If Canada is included in the overall numbers, 2,866 of NAMB’s missionaries serve outside the blue states, making the percentage 53 percent in North America serving outside the 14 blue states.

The error occurred when NAMB double-counted the states of Texas and Virginia. Both states have two, independently operated state Baptist conventions with which Southern Baptists are affiliated. The data spreadsheet used listed each of those state conventions with their individual subtotals and also an overall total from the state. Both the subtotals and the totals from those states were added when the overall missionary count was computed, leading to a double-count for the two states.

NAMB’s 2009 data shows 2,454 or 46 percent of missionaries serving in the 14 states depicted in blue on the GCRTF’s report and 2,850 or 54 percent serving in Canada and the remaining states depicted in red.

NAMB uses funding formulas developed in cooperation with state convention partners to determine how much funding it will send to a state to pay for missionary salaries, benefits and ministry initiatives. Because Southern Baptists have a much stronger presence in the South and parts of the Southwest, NAMB’s funding portion is much lower in those states. Conversely, NAMB’s portion is as high as 95 percent in Northeast and Northwest states where Southern Baptists have significantly fewer churches.

Page 19 of the GCRTF’s Progress Report states that Southern Baptists “spend $316.6 million on reaching the 108.7 million people” living in the 14 South-Southwestern states depicted in blue on the page 19 map. Of this amount, $10.2 million came from NAMB in 2008 in the form of Cooperative Agreement money to the states. The rest, presumably, is money provided by churches in those state Baptist conventions.

The Progress Report states that Southern Baptists “spend $71.5 million on reaching 195.3 million people.” These are states depicted in red on the page. Of this amount, $34 million came from NAMB in 2008 in the form of Cooperative Agreement money to the states.

In addition to money from Cooperative Agreements, NAMB sends money to state conventions through missionary benefits and national ministry funds. When these items are added, more than three-fourths (77 percent) of the $62 million NAMB distributed throughout the US and Canada in 2009 went to areas where Southern Baptist church presence is the least. These are the 36 states depicted in red on page 19 of the GCRTF’s Progress Report, plus Canada. Less than a quarter (23 percent) of NAMB’s spending occurred in states where Southern Baptists are strongest. These are the 14 states depicted in blue in the Progress Report.

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