Amen, Amen, Amen in response to the editorial “Don’t Sever This Relationship” concerning the Cooperative Program (Oct. 4 issue). Forty-one years ago, I enrolled in Samford University, and the Cooperative Program made it possible for me to receive an education. The Cooperative Program made it possible for me to attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and receive a master’s degree and a doctor of ministry degree. Our church (First Baptist Church, Pelham) has been blessed by state, national and international missionaries whose salaries were paid from the Cooperative Program.
The future of the Cooperative Program is in the hands of young leaders now. My generation is near retirement (or glory), and the next generation does not seem to appreciate the blessings afforded to us by being good stewards of the Cooperative Program.
Our church is committed to give 10 percent of our undesignated offerings to the Cooperative Program (and we are retiring a debt from relocation and construction). I salute the churches who give 20 percent (or more) to the Cooperative Program. They are “unsung heroes” in our missions work on home and foreign fields. May God help us to be faithful to Him and to the Great Commission by giving through the Cooperative Program.
Mike Shaw
Pelham, Ala.
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