When He Talked About Giving Through the Cooperative Program, I Knew . . .

My Testimony about the Cooperative Program

(Subscribe to this Substack Blog using the “Subscribe now” button below.)

[Note: This is a personal testimony of George Bullard and not an official post about the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program, nor does it seek to represent any official policy of the SBC. It seek to inspire and challenge the reader for a greater passion for supporting Great Commission and Great Commandment efforts in whichever denomination or network they choose to affirm.]

[Also, see A Book Review on A Unity of Purpose: 100 Years of the SBC Cooperative Program—HERE.]

When He Talked About Giving Through the Cooperative Program, I Knew . . .

. . . he understood something very important about the Cooperative Program.

Southern Baptist (SBC) congregations do not give “to” their regional-national-global missional funding channel. They give “through” the Cooperative Program (CP) to ensure that the Great Commission is fulfilled both locally and globally and reflects the spirit of the Great Commandment.

The words “to” and “through” may not significantly affect many congregations' understanding of the power of the Cooperative Program. For me, it makes a crucial difference.

It is the difference between an obligatory offering congregations give to be recognized as Southern Baptist, and a sacrificial commitment through which resources are provided so that all may know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

“To” suggests an obligation, dues, or a membership fee. “Through” implies that we are part of something much greater than our own congregation. We are on mission with nearly 50,000 partner Southern Baptist congregations to proclaim the Living Word of God—Jesus the Christ.

Where Did I Learn This?

I was fortunate—through a true blessing from God—to grow up in the home of a Southern Baptist minister who served as a pastor, missionary, denominational staff member, trustee or director of multiple denominational organizations, and vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention (hereafter SBC). All of this occurred during more than 55 years of ministry service across five states.

His co-laborer—my mother—was a pastor’s wife, Bible teacher, missionary, and perennial officer in SBC women’s organizations, especially the Woman’s Missionary Union. She was a gracious host in our home and in other places for ministers and laypersons involved in SBC ministry.

I was the youngest child in my family by almost ten years. This meant I frequently accompanied my parents to church or denominational meetings for the first 17 years of my life. My first attendance at a national SBC annual meeting was when I was just shy of nine years old.

I knew many SBC denominational officers and staff through my parents. If not for our age difference, I would have considered them personal friends and called them by their first names.

I received SBC missions education not only in the churches I attended and the denominational meetings with my parents, but also at the breakfast, lunch, and supper table from ministers who were guests in our home.

I cannot recall a time when I did not understand the importance of the Cooperative Program, associational missions, Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offerings, state and regional convention mission offerings, and other similar missional financial channels.

Priority Giving

I had hardwired into my spiritual and cultural understanding that these missional financial channels were not about determining a specific dollar amount that congregations would contribute through the Cooperative Program.

Instead, they concern a sacrificial percentage of undesignated tithes and offerings, which should be the first item in a congregational budget. What remains is what the congregation retains to fund the life and ministry of the congregation.

The world comes first. Our nation is second. Our backyard is third.

If we fully understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we should give sacrificially. Because of our sacrifice we could be joyfully surprised by the generous resources flowing to and through our congregation for the ministry to which God calls us.

The priority is Kingdom ministry, not church growth. By prioritizing the Kingdom, congregations can grow both qualitatively and quantitatively in ways we may not have ever imagined. God can achieve wonderful things through our commitment to making others our priority.

Individual Percentage Giving

A core lesson I understood before I realized others in SBC life thought differently was the principle of percentage giving.

I learned that ten percent of my income—at a minimum—needed to be given to and through my local congregation. Gifts for special missions offerings needed to be above and beyond my tithe.

I understood the emphasis on generosity differently than how it has been shared by various people. I interpreted it to mean that first I give the tithe of my income to my congregation, and then generosity begins beyond the tithe.

Let me reiterate this point: Giving ten percent to and through your congregation is not truly generous. Generosity begins when you give beyond the tithe.

A Congregational Percentage Giving Ideal

In my vision of an ideal Baptist Christian world, every individual connected to a congregation would at least tithe, and then generously contribute above their tithe to special missions offerings.

In an ideal world, every congregation would give 50 percent of these tithes through the Cooperative Program (CP) and use the other 50 percent to fund its local ministry.

The state or regional denominational organization sends 50 percent of what it receives to the national denomination. Then 50 percent of what the national denomination receives is allocated to international missions. Twenty-five percent is directed to North American missions. The remainder is distributed to the seminaries and other agencies and institutions of the national denomination.

This ideal has never materialized. It is highly improbable that it would ever occur. The SBC—like every other Christian denomination—must acknowledge we are not “all in” to fulfilling the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment throughout the world.

This does not even address the issue that in addition to what congregations give through the Cooperative Program, there is also what they contribute to their local Baptist association as they are not funded by CP.

(Note: When discussing Baptist associations, saying “to” is correct because congregations are members of their association, and affiliated with their state or regional convention and the national convention.)

Personal Experiences About Percentage Giving

First, when my parents were appointed SBC missionaries to a newer convention area of the USA to plant and develop congregations, they taught percentage giving guidelines to all new congregations.

From the first offering received by a new congregation, they were asked to give ten percent (10%) of their undesignated offerings through the Cooperative Program and five percent (5%) to their local association. With the other 85 percent, the congregation was to fund the rest of their budget.

This percentage arrangement was not always ingrained in the culture of new congregations. However, they began with it as a principle.

One caveat is that these new congregations were often the recipients of missional funding channels that came from the collective SBC gifts through CP and the Annie Armstrong offering for North American missions.

These funds were combined with the remaining 85 percent to create the spending plan for the congregation. The new congregations were missionary while they received missional funding support. It reflects the historic interdependent nature of the SBC.

Second, SBC leaders ought to exemplify a strong commitment to giving a significant percentage through CP. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case. This was particularly evident 46 years ago when a movement went public to change the SBC denomination. More than ever before, we began electing individuals to key offices who lacked a sacrificial commitment to financially support CP.

These highly visible individuals became new role models for pastors and congregations. They demonstrated it was not necessary to contribute sacrificially through CP to be regarded as a faithful SBC congregation. Local congregations could keep a higher percentage of their income for themselves.

Soon after this movement became public, I joined the staff of our North American missions agency. Within five years, we had to cut back financially on missional commitments due to congregations from all parts of SBC life reducing their CP gifts.

The United States and Canadian missions efforts were negatively impacted from that time forward. Even resulting in a major funding crisis in relation to state and regional conventions by the end of the 1980s.

Third, when I joined the staff of our national missions agency, my family moved to Atlanta. Finding a congregation to connect with that contributed at least ten percent through the Cooperative Program proved to be a greater challenge than we anticipated.

We did not join the congregation we were most drawn to because they contributed only six percent through CP. Instead, we ended up joining a congregation that gave on a dollar basis, rather than a percentage basis. However, their dollar commitment was at least ten percent of their undesignated gifts or more.

Fourth, when a few years later I went to a southern state convention as the missions director, we found a congregation that was already giving more than ten percent through CP and was incrementally moving up to 15 percent. This sacrificial level of giving lasted for a couple of decades, until it became apparent that no other SBC congregation in our vicinity was giving anywhere near this level. The church then incrementally moved down over several years to eight percent.

Fifth, when I went to this state convention, one mandate I was given was to launch a church planting movement. I did. We planted more than 400 congregations during the next 15 years. Various church planting systems were in place within the state convention, but not much was happening.

The guidelines for new congregations to receive funds from the state convention to help launch their congregation was that they gave at least five percent through CP and one percent to their association.

My goodness. How low can they go?

These percentages were guidelines approved by the board of directors. I was unable to get them changed.

I often thought to myself that SBC missions would be in trouble if this low level of commitment ever became the norm.

Guess where the SBC stands today regarding percentage giving from congregations? We have now reached this low level of commitment throughout the denomination at five percent through CP and one percent to associations.

May more congregations understand the power of giving through the Cooperative Program that all might know Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

Let me hear from you if you want to talk about this.