If your church wants to be considered a part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), then it must make an annual financial contribution to the work sponsored by the national convention, but no such requirement exists for participation in the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC) or most local Baptist associations.
Article III of the SBC constitution states the requirement plainly. The church must be in “friendly cooperation” and “a bona fide contributor to the Convention’s work during the fiscal year preceding.”
One can give to a particular ministry or all that Baptists do together through the Cooperative Program (CP). But contributions from previous years do not mean a church is considered a part of the SBC currently.
The ABSC constitution is almost silent about financial support. The constitution only says members are from churches “cooperating with the Convention” (Article II).
Later, in Article XIII, one reads, “All churches in the Convention are encouraged to support the mission programs by giving through the Cooperative Program … .” But nowhere is “cooperation with the convention” defined, and nowhere is there a requirement that churches contribute financially to the work of the state convention.
The association in which this writer participates follows the example of the state convention. Financial support of the association is not required to be considered a member. At the time of acceptance into membership by the association, a church must show “evidence of a desire to give financially … .”
That is all. The church never actually has to act on that desire.
The result is that a number of churches are listed as members of Baptist associations but never make financial contributions to the work of those associations. Also a number of churches are listed as participating with the ABSC but never financially support the convention’s work through the CP.
The ABSC’s State Board of Missions (SBOM) reported 641 cooperating churches made no financial contribution to support missions and ministry through the CP for the last year of record. That is almost one out of five of the 3,240 cooperating Baptist churches.
The 2008 financial report from my local association also indicated about 20 percent of the churches considered members in good standing made no financial contribution to the work of the association during the year.
Consider another figure. The average missions giving through the CP for Alabama Baptists, when figured on a per-resident-member basis, was $55.73, according to SBOM figures. If all 641 of the churches that gave nothing to missions through the CP had 50 resident members who gave the average amount through the CP, then each church would have given $2,786.50 in 2008. When that number is multiplied by 641, the increase in giving through the CP would have been about $1.8 million.
Instead of falling about $800,000 short of the CP Challenge Budget, Alabama Baptists would have exceeded the budget goal by more than $1 million. Think what that would have done in missions and ministry.
Had the nongiving churches of my association given an average amount, the association would not have had to dip into reserves to pay salaries. That money would have been available to demonstrate God’s love and care to hurting people and strengthen churches.
The membership size of the churches that gave nothing to the association does not matter. However, the churches reflect different sizes, histories and demographics. The important point is to recognize that all churches should contribute to their local association and the work of the state convention even though it is not required.
Because Baptists believe in the autonomy of the local church, outside groups shy away from telling a local church what it must do or how much it must give. That includes the local association and state convention. While every group in Baptist life is free to set its own membership standards, every part of Baptist life must be careful not to appear to be exercising authority or control over a local church.
Baptists expect churches to act in good faith toward their association and state convention. Churches play a role in approving programs, setting priorities, adopting budgets. Churches should also play a role in helping to undergird this work financially.
Every cooperating Alabama Baptist church can provide some level of financial support to the local association and state convention. A quick glance through the state convention annual shows churches giving $30, $50, $200 to missions through the CP. There is no minimum gift and no gift too small.
The important thing is every church contributes something — something to its association and something through the CP.
In these difficult economic times, the importance of every church contributing is accentuated. These times demand that every church do its part. For more than 200 years, Baptists in this nation have said, “We can do more together than any of us can do alone.” That saying is still true.
To do the missions and ministries God has given us in our associations and state convention, every church is needed. There is simply no way to accomplish the tasks if one out of five churches continue to sit on the sidelines. Every church can contribute something, and every church’s contribution is needed. That includes yours.
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