RICHMOND, Va.—In a regularly scheduled meeting May 8, the executive committee of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board approved a loan from the Baptist Extension Board to purchase a house adjacent to the Baptist student center at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. The purchase has yet to be made and will depend on favorable negotiations with the seller and approval for use as a residential learning center from appropriate city officials.

The four-bedroom, four-bath house is 20 years old but is reported to be in “perfect condition,” according to Susan McBride, who oversees student ministries in her capacity as leader of the emerging leaders team. “Not only is this a solid financial investment and asset in a growing university community, it provides the right setting for peer-learning and discipleship,” she said to the committee in a prepared statement. Assuming the conclusion of the sale, up to seven students or recent graduates will live there sharing rooms, meals and chores.

“Residential living and learning communities provide a practical and sustainable model for fostering deepened Christian discipleship,” said McBride. Approximately 40 such communities operate in university settings like Duke, Furman and the University of Virginia, she reported.

In other action, the executive committee approved spending up to $330,000 for needed maintenance at the Eagle Eyrie Conference Center near Lynchburg, Va. “We would love to spend that kind of money on cosmetic things that everybody can see, but with 50-year-old systems, infrastructure maintenance is necessary at times,” said Rod Miller, the center’s director. “These are not things a typical visitor would see, but without water and treatment of waste water we won’t be here to provide services,”

While the bulk of the money will be directed toward the water and waste water systems, funds will also be applied to repairs in parking lots, drives and a paved area used for tennis and basketball.

Eddie Stratton, treasurer for both the VBMB and the Baptist General Association of Virginia, reported that while Cooperative Missions (Cooperative Program) receipts for the year are running 1.04 percent ahead of the same period in 2011, they are $412,744.61 less than budgeted for that time frame. He reported that total BGAV receipts for the first four months of 2012 were $1,567,433.20 compared to $1,608,944.39 for the same period the year before.

Jim White ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is executive editor of the Religous Herald.

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