Nevada Baptist Convention

WHAT IS THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM?

The Cooperative Program--How it came about

Since its inception in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has always had one mission--the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). To fulfill its assigned part of this divine mandate, each SBC entity made special offering appeals to the churches. This method was referred to as the "societal" approach to missions and resulted in severe financial deficits, competition among entities, overlapping pledge campaigns, and frequent emergency appeals which greatly hampered the expanding ministry opportunities God was giving Southern Baptists. Some entities took out loans to cover operating costs until pledges or special offerings were received. (read more...)

Cooperative Program -- How it works

Simply put, it begins with you. You give yourself first to God (2 Cor. 8:5). Next, out of gratitude and obedience to God for what He has done for you, you commit to give back to Him, through your church, a portion of what He provides. This is commonly called a tithe and represents ten percent of your income (Lev. 27:30, Mal. 3:10).

Your church decides the next step. Every year your church prayerfully decides how much of its undesignated gifts will be committed to reaching people in your state and around the world through Cooperative Program. This amount is then forwarded to your state Baptist convention. (read more...)

Cooperative Program -- What it does

Churches in your state work together through your state convention to support a wide array of ministries and missions including: evangelism efforts, children's homes, volunteer missions, missions education, new churches, colleges and universities, collegiate ministries, camps, and much more.

Through the International Mission Board (www.imb.org), Southern Baptists support approximately 5,624 missionaries who are engaging 655 people groups, of populations great thatn 100,000, around the world. (read more)

Cooperative Program -- Its Potential

If "two are better than one" (Eccl. 4:9), how much better are more than 16 million? This is the current membership in more than 45,000 Southern Baptist churches across the United States. With a global population exceeding 6.5 billion and a command to take the gospel to every nation, we much enhance our cooperative efforts if we are going to fulfill Christ's command.

To help Cooperative Program reach its potential, would you please:

• Pray. Pray regularly for your Southern Baptist missionaries in your state and around the globe. "Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers." Matt. 9:38 (HCSB)
• Go. Be involved in some sort of missions endeavor. Talk with your pastor about the available opportunities. You are God's missionary right where you live. "Go...and make disciples of all nations." Matt. 28:19 (HCSB)
• Give. Out of love for the Lord, give regularly to Him through your church. If you are not tithing, begin to do so and also discover the blessings of giving beyond the tithe. Encourage your church to increase its participation in Cooperative Program. (read more...)

For Cooperative Program downloadable Bulletin Inserts, short videos, Missionary Moments, calendar dates and more...go to the Cooperative Program offical website.