May 21, 2025
“Our people must be cultivated, not cornered; they must be harnessed, not harassed. Churches, societies, pastors, and people do not exist simply for agencies to run down and collect money from . . . “
J.J. Bennett, 1913 State Missions Report
In 1906, thirty-three-year-old Joseph Johnston Bennett (1872-1945) became the youngest Corresponding Secretary (Executive Director) of the Georgia Baptist State Mission Board. He had been seen as a rising star during his senior year at UGA. An article in The Christian Index noted, “Brother J. J. Bennett, a student in the senior class, is a very promising young preacher, and had his hands full of work.”
Following graduation, he became the principal of the Hearn Institute and pastor of Cave Springs Baptist Church, Cave Springs, Georgia. This was followed by several full-time pastorates, at a time when there were probably fewer than 70 full-time churches out of nearly 2,100 Southern Baptist churches in Georgia. J.B.W. Graham, editor of the Christian Index during his tenure, and a former college roommate of Bennett’s wrote, “The eloquent pleadings of Dr. Bennett for the cause he represented stirred the hearts of those who heard him wither in the city, town or country.”
To assist Bennett in his work with the State Mission Board, a new administrative position, “Auditor of the State Mission Board” (Chief Financial Officer), was created. This position included stewardship promotion and the title of the “Corresponding Secretary of the Committee on Co-operation.” The first auditor was H.R. Bernard (1845-1915), an elder statesman whose strengths were in organization, promotion, and administration. Both men would fill crucial roles in Georgia Baptist life over the next decade. (For more information on H.R. Bernard refer to this Christian Index article.)
Between 1912 and 1914, a chain of events led to a financial crisis in the GBC. The problem was not simply a matter of income, it was a matter of designation. The first event was “The Judson Centennial Campaign” in 1912. Celebrating the centennial of Judson’s Baptist mission to Burma, it was a national effort among both Southern and Northern Baptists to raise extra support for foreign missions. Many people redirected their designated giving from other areas, especially state missions, to this campaign. It left state missions and other ministries dealing with financial shortfalls.
The second event, also in 1912, was a vote by the GBC to assume ownership of the Tabernacle Hospital, which included a large balloon note due in 1914. Both the hospital and the Baptist Tabernacle had overextended their finances in building programs and were facing foreclosure. A problem was created when those who recommended and/or voted for this action did not return to their churches and raise additional funds to cover the demands. Those debts, including the large balloon note due in 1914, ultimately became the responsibility of the State Mission Board.
This contributed to the third event driving the crisis. The ministries and contributions to the convention had grown under Bennett’s ministry. Between 1907 and 1913, annual receipts for state missions through the Mission Board more than doubled from $25,000 to $61,000 per year. In the same period, mission giving for all causes increased from $145,000 to $227,000. In an era of low inflation, the gains reflected tangible increases. But state missions and other ministries were carrying heavy debts, mainly because of the designation of offerings elsewhere, debt associated with the renamed Baptist Hospital, and accumulated operational debts.
Across Georgia, complaints of financial mismanagement by the State Mission Board began to circulate. How could the Mission Board receive more money and still not make ends meet? Special “Emergency Appeals” had become an all too regular feature of Georgia Baptist life and were having the effect of the little boy who called “wolf.” This is what prompted Bennett in his report to the GBC in 1913 to state, “Our people must be cultivated, not cornered; they must be harnessed, not harassed. Churches, societies, pastors and people do not exist simply for agencies to run down and collect money from…”
In December 1913, a few weeks after he made that report, Bennett experienced what was described as a “nervous breakdown.” At age 42, Bennett, with a wife and four young children ranging from 18 months to 15 years, spent the next three years in and out of hospitals in Baltimore and Atlanta. The plight of this young man caught the attention of Georgia Baptists. Finally, they began to take seriously the pleas and to understand the magnitude of the problems.
The fourth event took place in the summer of 1914 at a time when offerings were dropping because of a worldwide recession at the beginning of WWI. The State Mission Board and affiliated ministries received some monthly income from a program called “The Schedule Plan.” Most of their annual income, however, came through special offerings scheduled during the fall and winter months following the cotton harvest.
Typically, each ministry’s budget was based on previous years’ incomes. If a ministry ran low on funds during the year, a short-term loan to cover operational expenses was made to carry them until the fall offerings were received. Problems occurred when the annual giving fell short. This happened when people varied their designated giving, as in 1912, or on some occasions because the weather was bad across the state on the day a special offering was scheduled. When multiple years of shortfalls occurred, short-term loans were rolled into long-term debt.
By the summer of 1914, the outstanding State Mission Board debt was $39,000 against an income of $54,000. Servicing debts consumed $25,000 per year, or nearly half of the state missions budget. When the State Mission Board applied for a short-term operational loan, the banks turned them down as a bad credit risk. Without operational funds and a poor credit rating, the State Mission Board had run out of money!
J.J. Bennett’s pain and suffering became a wake-up call for Georgia Baptists in 1913. The poor credit rating given to the Mission Board in 1914 forced Georgia Baptists to wake up to the fact that mounting debts plaguing the convention could no longer be ignored. On the surface, it may appear to have been a financial crisis, but it really was a crisis of confidence. Georgia Baptists were questioning whether they could trust the State Mission Board to manage their mission offerings.
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The next feature in this series will address the unusual steps taken to restore confidence in the State Mission Board and the development of a debt campaign which became the blueprint for the 75 Million Campaign and the Cooperative Program.
