Cooperation and the Southern Baptist Convention

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In the opening decades of the
twentieth century, leaders of Southern Baptist Convention ministries and
leaders of state Baptist ministries made frequent financial appeals to Baptist
churches for a wide range of ministry needs. 
The churches being asked to fund the ministries of the Southern Baptist
Convention were the same churches being asked to support the ministries of
individual state Baptist conventions. Inundated with so many requests from so
many legitimate ministries, pastors and churches alike grew weary.

 Recognizing the drain these requests
made on the churches, our Baptist forbears hammered out a plan that both
recognized and sought to address the problem of so many special offerings.  The plan was remarkably simple – (1) individuals
give their tithes and offerings to their local churches; (2) the churches would
forward a percentage of their contributions to their state Baptist convention
for ministry in the state; (3) the state convention would then forward a
percentage of its funds to provide support for SBC ministries. 

Through a unified, cooperative
program of giving, both sets of ministries could be funded – state ministry
needs and ministry endeavors of the Southern Baptist Convention.  In 1925, this cooperative venture between
churches, state conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention was given the
name Cooperative Program.

By definition, the “Cooperative Program is
Southern Baptists’ unified plan of giving through which cooperating Southern
Baptist churches give a percentage of their undesignated receipts in support of
their respective state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention missions
and ministries.”

As faithful stewards give of
their tithes and offerings through their local churches, they partner with
other Southern Baptist Christians to accomplish Kingdom-sized ministries.

• ·        
  Two of the
  world’s largest missionary-sending agencies – the International Mission Board
  of the SBC and the North American Mission Board of the SBC – are equipped and
  resourced to deploy more than ten thousand missionaries across the nation and
  around the world;
• ·        
  Tens of
  thousands of college students are reached with and for the Gospel through
  Baptist Collegiate Ministry, the largest campus ministry organization in America;
• ·        
  Hundreds of new
  churches are planted annually in major cities and among multiple ethnic,
  racial, and language groups in the United States through a collaboration of
  local church, associational, state convention, and SBC efforts;  
• ·        
  More than sixteen
  thousand future church leaders are trained in the largest theological seminary
  consortium in the United
  States;
• ·        
  Thousands of children
  are fed and housed through children’s homes ministries in multiple states;
• ·        
  More than
  sixteen hundred mobile disaster relief teams, scattered across the states, constituting
  the third largest relief organization in the United
  States, are trained and on ready-alert for deployment
  whenever a natural disaster strikes the United States.

 The synergy of cooperative ministry
is incalculable.  As Nehemiah’s story
shows, we each can accomplish so much more when we work together – cooperating
for the purpose of penetrating lostness, making disciples, and evangelizing the
nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Roger (Sing) Oldham
Vice President for Convention
Communications and Relations
Southern Baptist Convention
Executive Committee

© Copyright 2012 Baptist Press
Original copy of this story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=35020