Women On Mission - August 2024
A Focus on Cooperative Program - Accomplishing More Together
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 mission 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 for that support. As missions efforts grew rapidly, so did the competition for funding. God led Southern Baptists in 1925 to launch a unified channel of giving called the Cooperative Program. It is a lifeline of support that
begins with individual 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 100 years, Southern Baptists have supported thousands of missionaries, planted multitudes of churches, and witnesses countless lives profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Can one local church support more than 3,500 overseas missionaries as well as six seminaries with 2,400 students and engage more than 3,180 unreached people groups around the world? By giving through the Cooperative Program, yes, it can. Please return hunger banks to the church by Sunday, August 25th.