At the end of the first quarter of the 2021-22 fiscal year, giving through the national Cooperative Program (CP) Allocation Budget continues to remain strong with more than $50 million given to national and international missions and ministries – an increase of more than 10% over last year’s giving totals.
“The continued commitment of local Southern Baptist churches to release a portion of their tithes and offerings to missions through the Cooperative Program is inspiring,” said Willie McLaurin, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee (EC) vice president for Great Commission mobilization and relations. “This layer of missions and ministry funding for a local church enables the church to engage in a global calling. I rejoice in the tremendous scope of mission work our Southern Baptist Great Commission churches are committed to. The passion of sharing the message of Jesus Christ with the community, city, county, country and the continents knits our hearts together.
“The first quarter surplus in giving speaks volumes to a faithful God who generously provides for His mission. The year-over-year increase in Cooperative Program giving accelerates putting more missionaries on the field and speaks volumes of our churches’ laser-sharp focus in prioritizing the Great Commission. Our churches were not just generous during December, but have maintained an ongoing posture of generosity year-round. I celebrate every pastor and every church that makes it possible for lost people to have the opportunity to hear the gospel by the ministries funded through the Cooperative Program.”
The total amount given through the CP in December 2021 totaled $16,853,819.74, which was $3,098,893.40 (22.53%) more than the $13,754,926.34 received in December 2020 and $1,020,486.40 (6.45%) more than the monthly budgeted amount of $15,833,333.34.
As of Dec. 31, gifts received by the EC for distribution through the CP Allocation Budget total $50,063,678.48. This is $4,562,690.46 or 10.03% more than last year’s budget contribution of $45,500,988.02. The amount given is ahead of the $47,500,000.02 year-to-date budgeted projection to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America by $2,563,678.46 or 5.40%.
Designated gifts received in December amounted to $5,130,398.91. This total was $1,241,184.21, or 31.91%, more than gifts of $3,889,214.70 received last December. Designated gifts through the first three months of the fiscal year amount to $12,830,448.71, which is $336,962.19 or 2.56% less than the $13,167,410.90 given through the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The CP is the financial fuel to fund the SBC mission and vision of reaching every person for Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state and every nation. Begun in 1925, local churches contribute to the ministries of its state convention and the missions and ministries of the SBC through a unified giving plan to support both sets of ministries. Monies include receipts from individuals, churches and state conventions for distribution according to the 2021-22 CP Allocation Budget.
State and regional conventions retain a portion of church contributions to Southern Baptists’ CP to support work in their respective areas and forward a percentage to SBC national and international causes. The percentage of distribution is at the discretion of each state or regional convention.
The convention-adopted budget for 2021-22 is $190 million and includes an initial $200,000 special priority allocation for the SBC Vision 2025 initiative. CP funds are then disbursed as follows: 50.41% to international missions through the International Mission Board, 22.79% to North American missions through the North American Mission Board, 22.16% to theological education through the six SBC seminaries and the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, 2.99% to the SBC operating budget and 1.65% to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. If national CP gifts exceed the $186.875 million budget projection at the end of the fiscal year, 10% of the overage is to be used to support the SBC Vision 2025 initiative with the balance of the overage distributed according to the%ages approved for budgetary distribution. The SBC EC distributes all CP and designated gifts it receives on a weekly basis to the SBC ministry entities.
Month-to-month swings reflect a number of factors, including the timing of when the cooperating state Baptist conventions forward the national portion of CP contributions to the EC, the day of the month churches forward their CP contributions to their state conventions, the number of Sundays in a given month, and the percentage of CP contributions forwarded to the SBC by the state conventions after shared ministry expenses are deducted.
Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, Southern Baptist Global Hunger Relief, Disaster Relief and other special gifts. This total includes only those gifts received and distributed by the Executive Committee and does not reflect designated gifts contributed directly to SBC entities.
CP allocation budget gifts received by the EC are reported monthly to the executives of the entities of the convention, to the state convention offices, to the state Baptist papers and are posted online at sbc.net/cp.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Jonathan Howe is vice president for communications at the SBC Executive Committee.)
