LEADERSHIP MATTERS by Roger Yancey, D.Min.
Our family became a part of an SBC church before I was 6 years old. My parents left a strong Independent Baptist Church because they sensed God’s leadership to move to a church context with a larger vision of ministry that shared their high commitment to the Scripture. They also appreciated the significant focus on missions and the impact of sharing resources through the Cooperative Program. The Cooperative Program was in its 40th year of existence and had proven already to be the largest single contributor to the sending of missionaries around the world, training ministers through seminaries, and helping facilitate impacting lostness in North America.
The final summer before entering college, I found myself on a quest to determine if being a Southern Baptist was my own decision or just the one I was raised in. Over the course of several months, I would visit different churches of varied denominations so I could understand the greater Christian family. I met many wonderful people and enjoyed the variety of experiences each church provided, and through it all, I came to several conclusions:
First, no church or denomination is perfect.
Second, no church or denomination offered a greater commitment to Biblical integrity than the SBC.
Third, no church or denomination could equal the SBC’s commitment to cooperation and missions.
I confirmed in my own heart that my faith and identity were in Jesus alone. I also realized that the SBC was my own choice of the group I most found agreement and fellowship with, and they would be my church family. I am grateful for all the blessings I have experienced as a Southern Baptist. I have been blessed by SBC underwriting of my theological education, the support in my years planting churches, the encouragement of fellow pastors, the sending of missionaries, the reaching of lost people groups, the focus on church planting in North America, the impact of Associational ministry, and the fellowship of churches. This is not an exhaustive list but a highlight of the many ways the SBC’s commitment to the Cooperative Program has made a difference.
The newly released A Unity of Purpose: 100 Years of the SBC Cooperative Program, edited by Dr. Tony Wolf, Executive Director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and W. Madison Grace, contains a succinct definition of the Cooperative Program:
The Cooperative Program is a missions-funding mechanism involving the deliberate and voluntary cooperation of local Baptist churches, state/regional Baptist conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention through which every contributing Baptist maximizes the Great Commission impact of every dollar given.
I believe the Cooperative Program is the best way for churches, regardless of size, to participate in an effective way in the missional efforts of the SBC. While global in scope, it is local in its foundation, with every church participating with one another in partnership. If your church is not presently actively supporting the Cooperative Program, we would welcome helping you find a pathway toward doing so.
Your local Baptist Association does not receive any funding through the Cooperative Program but instead is fully dependent on gifts from your local church. I share this to underline my personal commitment to the Cooperative Program, which is a reflection of how deeply I appreciate what it does and the understandings on which it is based.
Remember, as churches, we can always do more together than we can ever do on our own.
In Kingdom service,
Executive Director, AMS
A Unity of Purpose: 100 Years of the SBC Cooperative Program
https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/a-unity-of-purpose-P005847890
