The table conversation was about making church budgets. That is a common topic when pastors gather at this time of year. Practically all Alabama Baptist churches are looking toward the coming year and formulating budgets that will be Christ-honoring. The goal is for budgets that reflect a missions vision, that challenge members to Christian stewardship and, at the same time, demonstrate responsibility in the way tithes and offerings are used.
In between bites of lunch, one pastor warned, “Don’t cut the Cooperative Program and don’t cut The Alabama Baptist.” The comment reflected the tendency of some churches to reduce cooperative missions giving and missions information for members through the state Baptist paper whenever requests for funds exceed the amount of money anticipated in the coming year.
Another pastor spoke of a church he served in days past. Cooperative missions giving was low. This pastor had insisted that Cooperative Program giving be increased, even if it meant no increase in his salary. In the end, the church raised both Cooperative Program giving and the pastor’s salary.
To the surprise of some skeptics, giving increased. The lesson, the pastor pointed out, was that a church that turns inward will not prosper. A church that reflects a missionary vision will grow.
Cooperative missions giving makes it possible for every Alabama Baptist church to participate in missions. Giving through the Cooperative Program supports work in Alabama, the nation and the world. The Alabama Baptist State Convention has maintained its commitment to home missions and international missions. Forty-two and a half percent of every Cooperative Program dollar given in Alabama goes to Southern Baptist Convention causes. That places Alabama among the leaders in missions support beyond its borders.
Unfortunately, Cooperative Program giving among Alabama Baptist churches has not kept pace. The percentage of undesignated income channeled to missions through the Cooperative Program has declined steadily throughout the last decade to about 8.5 percent currently. That decline not only impacts missions outside Alabama, it directly impacts the amount of money going to Alabama Baptist causes. While the dollars grow each year, the amount of growth has slowed. Sometimes the growth does not keep pace with increases in costs.
That may be the reason the first pastor urged his peers not to lessen support for The Alabama Baptist. The state Baptist paper remains the primary source of missions information for Baptists in the pews. The state Baptist paper is the primary communications channel for Baptist work in Alabama. Those who want to know what God is doing at home and around the world through Baptists find the answers in the state Baptist paper.
Studies show that churches furnishing the state Baptist paper to their resident church families through the church budget give more to missions than churches that do not provide the state Baptist paper. The churches also give more to missions through the Cooperative Program and through the special missions offerings than the others.
The reason is simple. Baptists only give to what they care about, and they can care about only what they know about. Providing the information that allows Alabama Baptists to know and care about what God is doing at home and around the world is the role of the state Baptist paper.
Every week, the state Baptist paper provides news and feature stories about missions and ministries at home and around the world. Every week, Baptist causes and understandings are promoted. Every week, practical helps for real life problems are shared. That is why it is not surprising that those with the most information give the most to missions through the Cooperative Program. Missions giving and the state Baptist paper are inseparably linked. Take away the state Baptist paper and cooperative missions giving will eventually turn downward. Furnish the state Baptist paper and missions giving will eventually rise. The pattern has proven true so many times that it is an axiom among Baptist leaders.
“Don’t cut the Cooperative Program and don’t cut The Alabama Baptist.” That is what the pastor said, and he was right. Giving through the cooperative missions demonstrates a church’s mission vision. Providing The Alabama Baptist to resident church families nurtures that vision as well as helping to equip members for everyday Christian living. Neither the Cooperative Program nor The Alabama Baptist are luxuries for churches with too much money. Both are necessities.
A worthwhile goal for every Alabama Baptist church would be to give at least 10 percent of its undesignated tithes and offerings to missions beyond its local area through the Cooperative Program. That is a good starting place. Alongside that commitment, The Alabama Baptist should be furnished by the church to every resident family. The state Baptist paper is too valuable to be furnished only to those who remember to sign up on a list.
Missions giving and missions information always go together. You will not have one without the other.
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