BY STAFF
JEFFERSON CITY – October is Cooperative Program (CP) Month, and here are eight simple ways to help your church members learn more about the eternal impact of CP.
Visit mobaptist.org/cp to download the online resources or to place an order. All materials are free.
- Show a CP video. Choose from nearly a dozen videos, including “From you to eternity” and the “Because you give” series, all produced by Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) videographer Sean McMackins.
- Show how CP works. Order free posters and download PowerPoint slides to show during worship services, Sunday school or business meetings.
- Download and share the Missionary Moments Prayer Guide and schedule time to pray for our 10,000 missionaries in North America and around the world.
- Give each member of your congregation a Pocket Guide for Promoting the Cooperative Program in Missouri.
- Use bulletin inserts to teach your congregation about the 1% Challenge or the 50/50 by 2020 initiative.
- Hand out “Great Commission Advance Giving” tracts that help church members understand the importance of working together for the kingdom of God.
- Ask a young person in your congregation to share a brief history of the Cooperative Program. Good starting points are mobaptist.org/cp and cpmissions.net.
- Challenge your congregation to name all of the ministries CP supports. You can get a good start at cpmissions.net.
CP outpacing last year
So far in 2013, Missouri Baptists are giving more to missions through the Cooperative Program. For the first seven months of the year, CP giving from MBC churches is up 4 percent over the same period last year.
In addition, CP giving is running 0.4 percent ahead of budget.
“Missouri Baptists embrace the concept of sacrificial giving and the pooling of resources to advance the gospeal,” said Rob Phillips, who leads statewide efforts to promote CP.