We give 10% of our undesignated funds toward the Cooperative Program of the SBC. This program is one of the main vehicles we have in order to take the gospel to areas that we might not ever be able to see in person.
The Cooperative Program - How it came about
Since its inception in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has always had one mission - The Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). To fulfill its assigned part of this divine mandate, each SBC entity made special offering appeals to the churches. This method was referred to as the societal approach to missions and resulted in severe financial deficits, competition among entities, overlapping pledge campaigns, and frequent emergency appeals which greatly hampered the expanding ministry opportunities God was giving Southern Baptists. Some entities took out loans to cover operating costs until pledges or special offerings were received.
In 1919, the leaders of the SBC proposed the 75 Million Campaign, a five-year pledge campaign that, for the first time, included everything - the missions and ministries of all the state conventions as well as that of the Southern Baptist Convention. Though falling short of its goals, a God-given partnership of missions support was conceived - The Cooperative Program. Since its launch in 1925, the effectiveness of the Cooperative Program has been dependent upon individuals, churches, state conventions, and SBC entities cooperating, working toward a common goal of sharing the gospel with every person on the planet.
The Cooperative Program - What it does
Churches work together to support a wide array of ministries and missions including: evangelism efforts, children's homes, volunteer missions, missions education, new churches, colleges and universities, collegiate ministries, camps, and much more.
Through the International Mission Board (www.imb.org), Southern Baptists support approximately 5,300 missionaries who are engaging more than 1,100 different people groups around the world.
New churches numbering over 1,455 are planted through the efforts of more than 5,271 North American Missionaries, whose efforts are coordinated through the North American Mission Board (www.namb.net) and individual state conventions.
Six Southern Baptist seminaries (Southern, Southeastern, Midwestern, Southwestern, Golden Gate, and New Orleans) educate in excess of 16,000 pastors, missionaries, and future church leaders each year.
Also supported by the Cooperative Program is the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is dedicated to addressing social, moral, and ethical concerns, with particular attention to their impact on American families and their faith. They also provide print resources that offer scriptural responses to the moral and ethical problems of our culture.