JEFFERSON CITY – The MBC has produced a number of resources that help Missouri Baptist churches celebrate Cooperative Program Month in October.
All CP materials are available free of charge and may be downloaded from mobaptist.org/cp or by calling 800.736.6227 ext. 303.
Videos, posters, bulletin inserts, and bookmarks help educate Missouri Baptists about CP and demonstrate the value of working together to accomplish more for God’s kingdom.
Videos include a CP worship countdown timer; “We do more … together;” “CP Rant;” and a short clip on the 1% Challenge, a national Southern Baptist initiative that is leading to increased support of the Cooperative Program.
Posters in English and Spanish show how the Cooperative Program works.
Bulletin inserts help teach local church members about how CP helps Missouri Baptists carry out the Great Commission.
And bookmarks capture the story of CP, while answering key questions about this uniquely Southern Baptist ministry.
What CP does
Through the Cooperative Program, the tithes and offerings of Missouri Baptists help start new churches, feed the hungry, advance Christian education, provide disaster relief, promote evangelism, keep thousands of full-time missionaries in the field … and much more.
October is Cooperative Program Month for the 45,000 churches of the Southern Baptist Convention.
It is a month to celebrate the unique funding process that Southern Baptists have used since 1925 to support missions and evangelism around the world, according to Rob Phillips, who coordinates CP promotion for the Missouri Baptist Convention.
“The Cooperative Program is the envy of the evangelical world,” he said. “When Southern Baptists give through CP, our faithful stewardship has a global impact. By pooling financial resources, Southern Baptists are able to do so much more together than we ever could alone. CP is uniquely Southern Baptist. It’s smart. It’s effective. And it changes lives.”
How the Cooperative Program works
CP begins with you – your tithes and offerings to the local church.
Your church, in turn, gives a percentage of its annual budget to the Missouri Baptist Convention.
The MBC invests more than 50 percent in Missouri missions and related causes, such as the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home and Christian higher education, and sends the rest to the Southern Baptist Convention.
The SBC uses CP funds from Missouri and 40 other state conventions – more than 45,000 churches combined – to support nearly 9,000 full-time missionaries, six seminaries, ethics and religious liberty, and many other national and international causes.
How to celebrate
There are many ways MBC churches can celebrate Cooperative Program Month and raise awareness of its value. See the sidebar, “Eight simple ways to promote CP in October,” for ideas.
Pastors also may plan to share a message on stewardship, missions, or evangelism – all of which are enhanced through the cooperative efforts of Missouri Baptists.