A Focus on COOPERATIVE PROGRAM
English Baptist William Carey answered the call to carry the gospel to India in the late 1700s. He recognized that to be effective in his efforts, he needed partnership and cooperation. He challenged churches to “hold the ropes” by committing to pray for and give to missions efforts.
In 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention was formed and continued in the spirit of fulfilling the Great Commission. The initial approach was a societal method of giving. Missionaries had to raise their own financial support and devote significant time to cultivating churches and individuals believers in each Southern Baptist congregation. As believers respond in obedience to give to the Lord in the local church, churches, in turn, allocate a percentage of undesignated gifts through the Cooperative Program for state, national, and international missions.
The simple principle that more can be accomplished together than alone is the genius of the Cooperative Program. For almost 90 years, Southern Baptists have supported thousands of missionaries, planted multitudes of churches, and witnessed countless lives profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Can one local church support more than 6,000 missionaries as well as six seminaries and engage more than 3,000 unreached people groups around the world? By giving through the Cooperative Program, yes, it can.
-written by Kelly King
Women on Mission will meet Monday, July 13th at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Wanda Schultz and Abby Avis will bring a one on one presentation of their recent mission trip to India. All our ladies are invited to join us.
