nineteen hundred and forty-six - Amazon Web Services

448
SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION
annuity obligations require steady, unremitting, and successful efforts toward
the building up of supporting reserves. Yes, we must attain sufficiency here.
For every dollar of contractual annuities, there should be twelve or more dollars
of dependable reserves. Have we stressed this necessity sufficiently? Perhaps
not enough. Certainly not too much. It is dangerous to.lengthen our
cords without a corresponding strengthening of our stakes.
That we have succeeded thus far measurably well, I think will be granted.
But we must not, we dare not, flag in our future efforts.
In 1919, our reserves were $106,428.53; in 1925, the reserves had become
$1,964,672.06; in 1930, they were $3,698,554.74; in 1935, they were $4,326,-
491.05; in 1940, they stood at $5,149,663.24. At the end of 1945, the figure
was $9,447,713.88. At this time, March 27, 1946, they are approximately
$9,800,000.00. By May 14, when the Convention meets in Miami, we shall
have passed the ten million mark. Within ten years, our accumulated reserves
should be over $25,000,000; and, within fifteen years, they should reach, or go
beyond, $30,000,000.
Just how are these needed reserves to be had? The answer is ready to hand
First of all, the greater part of the needed reserves for the (Old) Annuity
Fund must come from the distributable funds of the Convention. This will
amount first and last to several million dollars, for, as we have pointed out, the
sum of ten millions is yet to be paid to the beneficiaries of the fund by the
year 2017. By a contractual arrangement with the Southern Baptist Convention,
10 1/3% of Cooperative Program funds is being regularly remitted to us
month by month by the Executive Committee of the Convention for the express
and exclusive purpose of building up the reserves of the (Old) Annuity Fund.
This percentage yielded to us, during 1945, the sum of $382,469.68. (Special
gifts amounting to $20,363.31 also went to this fund.) This allocation is not
subject to change until the (Old) Annuity Plan is completely funded. The
Relief and Annuity Board is obligated to seek special gifts to be applied to an
agreed-upon portion of the required funds in accordance with the Actuary's
table of the monetary requirements; it being agreed that 2% of the distributable
funds of the Cooperative Program, which formerly went to the relief department,
should be used to provide the Relief and Annuity Board's accepted part
in the funding arrangement. (See minutes of Convention 1944, pages 49, 50,
and 56.)
Thus, the (Old) Annuity Plan was underwritten by the Convention, and it i
expected that sufficient funds will be received from month to month to fully
care for all future payments to its beneficiaries.
In the long years ahead, in the very nature of the case, due to the poten
liabilities which we have already assumed, and shall assume under our many
contract forms, the reserves should grow far beyond $30,000,000. Certainly,
the Board's reserves should grow in proportion to the liabilities.
The Southern Baptist Convention is second only to the Methodist denomination
in the number of its churches. We are not second to the Methodists in
the number of preachers, but the Methodist denomination in the United States
how is a merger of Northern and Southern Methodists and other bodies including
negro churches. The Southern Baptist Convention operates in only 19
of the states and the District of Columbia. Leaving the Methodists out of the
picture, Southern Baptists, through the Relief and Annuity Board with nearly
$10,000,000 of assets, occupies fifth place in the matter of financial strength
among the retirement boards of the great denominations; while Northern Baptists
through their Benefit Board have $25,000,000 of reserves- the Conffregationalists
have approximately $20,000,000; Protestant Episcopalians nearly
$40,000,000 and the Presbyterians of the North over $45,000 000 Now the
point is that these denominations have from one-fourth to one-third as mamchurches
as the Southern Baptists have, and from one-fourth to two-fifths
the number of preachers as the Southern Baptist Convention. In plain figures
Southern Baptists, with 24,000 ministers, may be compared with Northern
Baptists who have 7,000, to Congregationalists with 5,600, to the Disciples of
Christ with less than 8,000. to Protestant Episcopalians with 6 600 and to
Northern Presbyterians with 9,500. If these denominations require the large
reserves which they have required (and they are all on an actuarially funded
reasonable.
basis), then the idea of our having in the future $40,000,000 more is altogether