Eleven churches reported giving nothing to missions through the Cooperative Program (CP) for the past year. That was the report of one association where I recently spoke in behalf of The Alabama Baptist.
When those 11 churches were compared to a list of churches providing the state Baptist paper to active resident families through the church budget, the results were predictable. Ten of the 11 churches did not make The Alabama Baptist available to their members.
In another association where I spoke, only two churches did not include the state Baptist paper in their church budget. Not surprisingly, those same two churches reported no giving to missions through the CP for the last year of record.
While not a statistically reliable survey, this cursory examination of the relationship between CP giving and readership of The Alabama Baptist confirmed what earlier reliable studies have found. Churches that provide the state Baptist paper for active resident families give more to missions than churches that do not provide the paper.
On average, these studies have found that churches that provide The Alabama Baptist to active resident families give more through the CP, to associational missions and to special missions offerings than churches that do not provide the paper.
There are exceptions, to be sure, but the relationship is unmistakable just as one would expect. After all, Baptists only give to what they care about. But Baptists cannot care about something unless they know about it, and Baptists will not know about something unless the information is made available to them.
The Alabama Baptist is the primary source of news and information among Alabama Baptists. Its ministry charge is to provide stories that capture the heart, reports that lift the spirit, articles that challenge the mind and information that builds up the body of Christ. The state Baptist paper provides the news and information that helps Baptists know what God is doing through Baptists and other Christians at home and around the world. This creates the opportunity for Baptists to know, care and be involved.
A human tendency is for one’s vision to be limited by personal experience. Sometimes that vision shrinks to what one sees and touches. Regular reading of the state Baptist paper is an antidote to this “me and mine syndrome.”
The Alabama Baptist is a missions publication. Each week, it tells the story of God at work in our state, nation and world. Stories may be about missionaries in Ukraine or Christians persecuted by nonbelievers in countries closed to the gospel. The stories might be about planting churches in our nation’s major cities or evangelistic efforts along Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
The state Baptist paper is a primary source of news and information about missions for lay Christians. Every week, it helps lift the missions vision of Alabama Baptist readers to include the whole world.
That missions vision is reflected in the giving reports of churches that provide the state Baptist paper to a majority of their active resident families.
A psychologist might explain this result by pointing out that behavior is motivated, that some stimulus lies behind each action. Thus the stories, reports, articles and information provided by The Alabama Baptist become the stimuli prompting increased missions giving.
A better explanation is found in Proverbs 29:18a (NASB), “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.” The missions news and information help provide a vision that is greater than one’s local church, a vision that includes all Alabama Baptists do together, even to the ends of the earth. Actions are not “what seems right in one’s own eyes” but what will advance the kingdom of God.
For nearly 175 years, The Alabama Baptist has been a trusted voice among Baptists of this state. It provides reliable information in a fair and balanced manner. The paper upholds the best of professional journalism. It is produced by fellow Baptists serving God through the ministry of the state Baptist paper.
Because Alabama Baptists know their state paper is a trusted voice, they have welcomed it into their homes. The paper remains the largest circulated state Baptist paper among Southern Baptists going into about 100,000 Baptist homes.
Don’t miss the relationship. The Alabama Baptist State Convention is not the largest state convention nor is it the wealthiest. But Alabama Baptists have the largest circulation of any state Baptist paper and rank first in support of Southern Baptist Convention missions causes.
This is not a claim that the state Baptist paper caused the CP giving record of our state convention or of any of our churches. Rather it is a reminder that the state Baptist paper plays an important role in helping Alabama Baptists work together for the cause of Christ, including giving to missions through the CP.
In light of this relationship, shouldn’t The Alabama Baptist be a part of your church budget for active resident families?
For more information, visit thealabamabaptist .org or call 1-800-803-5201.
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