HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — First Baptist Church in Hendersonville has become the first church in Tennessee whose yearly gifts through the Cooperative Program (CP) have reached $1 million.

FBC Pastor Bruce Chesser presented a check for $1,025,000 to Randy C. Davis, executive director-treasure of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, during FBC’s morning service Aug. 11.

Davis outlined for the congregation a few of the myriad ways CP gifts are used to fuel missions and ministry.

He told of a photo he received via text message last week showing a family at a courthouse — a mom and dad and a little girl, whose adoption had just been finalized after eight years in the foster system.

“You were a part of that,” Davis said.

Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief’s water rescue team was deployed to North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Debby’s flooding, Davis said.

“You were a part of that,” he told the audience.

“In November, we will celebrate our 150^th anniversary as the Tennessee Baptist Convention,” Davis continued. “And during that time, we will have an International Mission Board (IMB) sending service. And dozens of new missionaries will be sent out to join the 3,500 missionaries around the world. And you’re a part of that.”

“We’re thankful for this check. We praise the Lord for it,” he said.

When FBC Hendersonville was founded in the 1940s, its annual gift through the Cooperative Program was $50, Davis said. Since then, gifts have accumulated to more than $16 million. Twenty-five percent of those gifts have come in Chesser’s tenure at the church, he said. Chesser was celebrating his 15^th anniversary at the church the same day and told Davis his goal is for FBC Hendersonville to give at least $1 million through CP each year for the remainder of his time as pastor there.

According to church profile data, the church gave $820,417 through CP last year, or 6.25% of its undesignated receipts.