I’ve often written articles about the Cooperative Program, usually after the Executive Committee’s monthly CP report. The theme has consistently been about declining revenues.
But not today.
Baptist Press reports National CP giving nearly $11M above budget halfway through fiscal year.
This is significant enough that even longtime critics like our mod/lib friends report on it: Against the odds, the SBC is experiencing a double-digit increase in giving.
Why the good news?
Could be a lot of things but, clearly, the increases in giving express Southern Baptists’ confidence in and support of the national SBC – mainly the mission boards and six seminaries. These combined consume over 90% of each national CP dollar.
Additionally, increases reflect coming out of COVID, some state conventions increasing their percentage sent to Nashville, and other factors.
Personally, I’d attribute some of the increase to increased confidence in our Executive Committee after the catastrophic meetings of last year that met with multiple EC member and EC staff resignations.
SBC critics, those who openly declare that their opposition is a quest for power, likely demean the CP good news with the old trope that giving doesn’t define orthodoxy, a hoary non sequitur.
It has long been the case that the stellar performance of our two main designated offerings, Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong, signal the strong support of Southern Baptists for the International and North American Mission Boards. Contrast that to your own Twitter feed. If there is inconsistency in the message maybe you should expand those to whom you listen.
