The Board of Directors of the Arkansas Baptist Foundation (ABF) held its Quarterly Board Meeting on Thursday, May 8th at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) building.
Dr. Rex Horne, Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, led the opening devotional. Horne shared from 2 Corinthians 20, three things we see Jehosaphat do as the tribe of Judah fights a battle: they seek the Lord, stand before the Lord, and sing before the Lord. Horne moved through the passage emphasizing the posture Jehosaphat had even as he was fearful was to position himself to seek the Lord (v. 12), stand before the Lord and let Him fight on their behalf (v. 17), and sing to the Lord (vv. 20-22). Horne spoke of a pastor in Arkansas who has suffered deep loss and asked him how he was able to get through such loss, his response was worship. Horne closed by noting these three postures will help everyone as we fight our battles.
Highlights of the board meeting included:
- Randy Milligan, Landmark PLC Managing Member/CPA, reviewed the 2024 Audit and presented a clean audit report.
- Bobby Thomas, ABF President, provided an update regarding the Hammons Charitable Foundation, which will award $522,000 in scholarship awards to eighty-seven students in the 2025-2026 school year.
- Dr. Stan Norman, President of Williams Baptist University, gave an Institution Report sharing about the transformative program that Williams Works has become at the university, as it has grown from forty student work positions and eight workstations to twenty partnerships and workstations and 150 positions with over 470 applicants for these spots. Norman also shared with the board about the newest Agri-Business degree launching in the fall of 2025, 2024-25 athletics accolades, and the current renovation and expansion of the original chapel.
- Robby Tingle, pastor/church planter of Living Hope Baptist Church in Jacksonville, gave a church/pastor report beginning with a passage from Philippians 1:3-5, highlighting the partnership we have in the Gospel as a part of the ABSC. Tingle shared how their church, Living Hope Baptist Church, was started and how he determined whether he was called to be a church planter. Tingle expressed his gratitude to the ABF and WatersEdge for their assistance, support, and guidance as they dealt with finance, tax, and administration issues while planting a new church.
- The Foundation celebrated first quarter distributions to Arkansas Baptist ministries, institutions, and churches of $8,999,664.