EDITOR’S NOTE –  October is Cooperative Program Emphasis Month in the Southern Baptist Convention.

HARRODSBURG, Ky. (BP) – Pastor Stephen Brogli takes no credit for Bethel Baptist’s generosity to the Cooperative Program.

“Bethel was giving 20 percent even before I got there,” he said. “It wasn’t that that I was a huge part in it. It’s part of the fabric of the church. They love missions and have for a long time.”

Brogli has been the pastor for almost seven years and the church has thrived under his leadership. While Bethel has always been a big CP giving church, he has given them reminders about the importance of being a part of the program.

In the last few weeks, he has invited Kentucky Baptist Convention staff to speak briefly about the Cooperative Program and all that it encompasses.

“Knowing their love for missions and faithful giving, I wanted to educate folks and myself,” he said. “Saying ‘we are better together’ is not just this cute little slogan.”

Among those who have come to speak include Daniel Johnson, who leads the Baptist Campus Ministry in Lexington. “I mentioned the 20 percent CP giving and Daniel was sitting on the second row and was like ‘WOW!’ and it was a loud ‘WOW!’” Brogli said. “It kind of hit home to me.”

The parade of speakers started in September with Liz Encina, the executive director of Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union. Johnson followed the past week and Matt Flanagan, KBC children and student education consultant, will be speaking Sunday. Later, women’s ministry consultant Sara Robinson is coming to speak.

Michael Cabell, assistant to the executive director for convention relations, walked the church through a study last Sunday night.

Each time, Brogli said, somebody in the congregation – and usually more than one – tell him after the service they had no idea that CP did so much. Brogli said he feels the same way on most nights, always learning something new and great about what it means to be a part of the Cooperative Program.

Brogli, who is on the KBC mission board, said he had some jaw-dropping moments himself during the last mission board meeting when the entities that benefit from CP began giving testimonies.

“It kind of hit me even more of how we are truly better together,” he said. “I’m setting there going, ‘Wow! I didn’t know that.’ That’s what folks every week are saying to me.”

Brogli’s church has seen tremendous growth during his time in the pulpit since coming out of COVID. As the church continues to grow, he said the emphasis he puts on the Cooperative Program grows too. Bethel is one of the top percentage giving churches in the KBC.

“When you think about a church giving 20 percent, we have to know what we are really giving to,” Brogli said. “I didn’t know all of this. If I don’t know this, probably a good chunk of folks don’t know it either. We’ve got some ladies who are WMU to death. They are legit over the Cooperative Program, and they know a lot of the ins and outs, but that’s a small group.”

He said the reminders and reinforcement about the Cooperative Program can only lead to a better understanding among members of what it does.

“We forget that all of us need to be reminded of lot of different things,” Brogli said. “That’s how we function best sometimes. We are reenforcing that this is what we’re giving to and why we’re giving. We have been enlightened every week.”

He said the extra 10 minutes a week has extended services more than some members may have liked but the time used has been valuable in helping everyone have a better handle on the Cooperative Program and the vast areas it reaches – from sending missionaries to the nations to equipping the local churches in training and much more.

Cabell explained how CP keeps missionaries on the field instead of having to spend 25 percent of their time fundraising. International Mission Board missionaries are fully funded to serve in some of the darkest places in the world to spread the Gospel.

Brogli said the education process is critical and never ending because churches can be one pastor away from completely changing the direction of the church. “We’re also in a spot where we could leave our first love,” he said. “It’s important for us to continue and don’t ever become complacent because the church is presently being faithful. If we ever stop reminding that we give 20 percent and here’s why, it could be 5 percent in a short time. We’ve got to keep this before our folks.”

This article originally appeared in Kentucky Today.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Mark Maynard is managing editor of Kentucky Today, the news website of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.)