Cooperative Program

The older I get, the more joy I find in giving to the Lord. I am profoundly grateful God allows us to make a meaningful financial difference through our local church. The privilege and discipline of giving are essential aspects of the Christian life and vital to a healthy church. Here are a few insights […]

Applied Theology: The Local Church and The Cooperative Program Since we now have a Biblical foundation for unified giving and the local Church’s role in God’s redemptive mission, it is important that we consider how to apply our theology to everyday life in ways that are both faithful and practical. The Cooperative Program is not

Throughout Scripture, we see that the local church is the primary means by which God’s providential mission is carried out in the world. In 1 Timothy 3:15, the Apostle Paul refers to the church of the living God as “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” In Ephesians 3:10, he explains that it is “through

Years ago, Belinda Stroud began to have a burden. “I kept thinking about how the next generation doesn’t understand the Cooperative Program,” said Stroud, a children’s ministry specialist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “I just wanted to educate them, and I felt like by educating children we could also educate their parents.”

Two are better than one! In those five words from Ecclesiastes 4:9, we learn a great Biblical truth. Think about it: In Genesis 2:18, we read, for the very first time recorded in Scripture, that God said something wasn’t good. Of all the beautiful and majestic beings and worlds God created, He also declared how

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”(Isaiah 52:7, NIV) Taking the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, whether that be across the street or thousands of

1. Stays true to the original vision. The Cooperative Program is an agreement among churches, state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention to cooperate to conduct mission ministries in the United States and around the world. It is a channel through which our offerings flow to underwrite missions and ministries performed by more than 6,400

1. Not using the Church Retirement Plan through GuideStone. GuideStone does a very good job with our money. Their investments are competitive with secular companies. The Church Retirement Plan has unique tax treatment for ministers. Due to the dual tax status of ministers, making tax-deferred contributions saves on federal, state and self-employment taxes on the

It was a beautiful late spring day in north Alabama, and I was taking my then four-year-old son fishing with me. He and I would go to a farm area not far from my house. I loved to fish, and my son loved to throw rocks in the water. I’ll grant you that isn’t usually

Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. Psalm 39:5-6