When you give through CP your gift is more than a drop in a bucket!
The Cooperative Program is the lifeblood of missions for Southern Baptists. It is also the most effective method of funding missions in the world today.
Prior to creation of CP, churches were accustomed to endless appeals from missionaries seeking support for their work. The work of the Southern Baptist Convention’s two mission boards was frequently endangered by lack of funds. And many missionaries spent as much time soliciting support as they spent on the mission field.
That all changed in 1925 when the Cooperative Program was created. That voluntary system of giving continues today, keeping missionaries and church planters on the field, rather than in the states on frequent furloughs to drum up support. Half of all CP gifts go to international missions, the very heartbeat of Southern Baptist missiology.
In Illinois, 56.5% of CP gifts fund the work of IBSA here in Illinois, advancing the gospel in our frontier state, while 43.5% goes to the national SBC for missions and education for the next generation of missionaries, pastors, and church leaders. Among 42 state conventions, IBSA has the 13th highest percentage of giving missions through CP, a remarkable fact given the pioneering nature of our state convention when compared to larger conventions in the SBC’s Southern regions.
An ongoing program of missions education is vital, if the next generations are to further our gospel work in the next decades. People will support the Cooperative Program if they understand what it is and how effective it has been for nearly a century.
IBSA provides printable resources and videos to help educate your church about the Cooperative Program.
Download the “Young Church Reaches Neighbors in Need” Cooperative Program bulletin insert
Download the “We Cannot Retreat” Cooperative Program bulletin insert
Download the John Yi “Opening Doors” Cooperative Program bulletin insert
Download the Carrie Jones “Opening Doors” Cooperative Program bulletin insert
Download “How the Cooperative Program Works” bulletin insert or letter size
Download the Cooperative Program “More than drop in the bucket” bulletin insert
The entire month of October is CP month, and Cooperative Program Sunday is in April. But, you can learn why CP giving is so important—and so effective—any time of the year!
The SBC Executive Committee provides CP resources and videos for churches to share with their congregations.
Access more CP resources HERE.
