Report: Few Results From Grant for New Churches
November 2, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Baptist General Convention of Texas hired independent investigators to determine what happened to the $1.3-million it gave to help start 258 churches in the Rio Grande Valley from 1999 to 2005, reports The Dallas Morning News.
The investigation found that most of the churches, more than 200, no longer exist, and some never did. The convention is the largest state group within the Southern Baptist Convention. The money the Texas convention donated was channeled through three Valley pastors, none of whom spoke to the Morning News.
Two staff members at the convention who were mentioned in the report left their positions last week, the paper reports.
Charles Wade, executive director of the convention, apologized to board members for lax oversight and said he regrets not looking into the issue sooner.
