CSBC Celebrates a Year of Wins at Final Staff Week of 2022

FRESNO – Ministry Leaders of the CSBC presented preliminary numbers for 2022, many of which exceeded several goals set at the onset of the year.  Reports of ministry progress were given related to church matters, evangelism, missions, and church planting.

Marc Tempesta, CSBC’s chief financial officer, said giving data through October signals that CSBC “will find itself in a deficit position” for 2022. He said expenses for the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting and the CSBC annual meeting, coupled with inflation, “will certainly impact our bottom line.” He noted that twice as many churches have given less to Cooperative Program ministries in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

Updates to AB-506 over the past year have created anxiety for many churches trying to ensure proper compliance. Church Matters Leader Ralph Neighbour reported 199 participants for the New Developments to Child Protection and AB-506 Webinar held in November.

Neighbour also reported 190 CSBC churches are currently subscribed to HR Network, a compliance resource available to all cooperating CSBC churches. “Those churches not subscribed may face problems with insurance renewal,” he warned.

The Church Matters Initiatives Team is developing an ‘Administrative Suite’ resource to handle compliance matters like SI-100 for a nominal fee.

Evangelism Leader Jason Blankenship reported a goal of 9 Evangelism workshops in 2022 but will have completed 16. The workshops have resulted in 1,170 salvations, 740 rededications, and 154 baptisms. With nearly 200 evangelism grants awarded for the year, Blankenship said he is “excited for what 2023 has in store!”

Francis Chung, Missions Initiatives Team Leader, shared that his team primarily works with ethnic fellowships and churches, which comprise about 61 percent of the CSBC churches in the state. He requested prayer for team members in navigating their way through best practices in working with each unique and diverse group. 

With several Missions team events slated for 2023, Chung said, “it is sure to be an amazing year!” With the Women’s Leadership Conference in January, Missions College at Gateway Seminary in February, and more women’s events in March, “there are so many amazing opportunities bringing the Lord, and His teachings to the people,” he said.

CSBC Executive Director Pete Ramirez reported CSBC currently is funding 49 church plants, far surpassing the initial 2022 goal of ten church plants. A goal of five new Hispanic church plants also was exceeded by 1 this year.

The staff meeting ended December 6 with a special worship time led by Roger Byrd and featured a Christmas-themed message from CSBC President Victor Chayasirisobhon. In appreciation of Chayasirisobhon, the CSBC team prayed over him for continued success in all the kingdom work he is engaged in. The afternoon concluded with a staff Christmas celebration held onsite.