The Cooperative Program: One Hundred Years and Counting

On May 13, 1925, nearly 5,000 Southern Baptists gathered at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, Tennessee and adopted The Cooperative Program as the way to partner in missions funding.
A century later, on May 13, 2025, Southern Baptist leaders once again gathered in Memphis, Tennessee just a few steps from where Ellis Auditorium once stood to commemorate 100 years of cooperation.

Using the same pulpit from 1925, once owned by Pastor M.E. Dodd, over 70 SBC and state convention leaders signed a Declaration of Cooperation declaring our continued commitment to cooperation. I had the honor and joy of representing Ohio Baptists and affixing my signature to this important and historic document that will be preserved in the SBC historical library and archives.

Dr. Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, reminded all of those in attendance and watching online of the historical significance of the Cooperative Program. “While commonplace to us, the Cooperative Program was a never-before-attempted method of funding shared ministry and mission efforts,” Dr. Iorg said.

Since the beginning of SCBO in 1954, Ohio Baptist churches have sacrificially and generously given over $188,000,000 to missions through the Cooperative Program.

Because of the generosity of all Southern Baptists, we now have over 3,500 fully-funded missionaries across every continent, help provide financial and organizational support for over 600 church plants annually and assist in the training of thousands of seminary students to spread the gospel of Jesus and make disciples.

When Southern Baptists gather together in Dallas, Texas for the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program as well as cast the vision for another 100 years of partnering together for missions through this incredible funding method, should Jesus tarry.

If you would like to learn more about the Cooperative Program and how it supports the mission work of reaching our neighborhoods here in Ohio and the nations around the world, please visit the SCBO website and learn more at https://scbo.org/cooperative-program.