“I can testify that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, of their own accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints.”
— 2 Corinthians 8:3-4
One of the many blessings of serving as pastor of Brownsville Baptist Church is the rich history of convictional generosity that took shape here long before I arrived in August 2022.
Founded in 1825, Brownsville Baptist Church has a long and faithful history. A century later, in 1925, the Cooperative Program was established under the leadership of M.E. Dodd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and a son-in-law of George M. Savage, president of Union University (then known as Southwestern Baptist University).
During an era ripe with financial strain and economic uncertainty — conditions that had pushed the convention’s Great Commission efforts through the International Mission Board (IMB), then called the Foreign Mission Board, toward fiscal exhaustion — Dodd issued an appeal in a sermon before the Southern Baptist Convention in 1919:
We have arrived at the moment in our history for which our forefathers toiled and sacrificed and prayed, for which they suffered and bled and died. The Baptist hour of all centuries has sounded. To waver now would be traitorous; to give up here would be a crime against all the martyred blood of the heroes of the past.
That exhortation helped set the stage for an SBC committee recommendation that became known as the “75 Million Campaign.” Through that effort, cooperating Southern Baptists were called to provide financial support for the mission that had given rise to the convention — advancing the work of missions worldwide.
The campaign proved more than successful. Dodd then led a committee meeting in Memphis, to formally constitute the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. So, what does this have to do with Brownsville Baptist?
G.M. Savage’s granddaughter and M.E. Dodd’s niece was Evelyn Walker, a longtime member and worship organist at Brownsville Baptist Church. Evelyn Walker was also the grandmother of current Brownsville Baptist members Dr. Eddie Pate and Jan Hooper.
Over the past 100 years, the spirited words Dodd preached before the 1919 SBC have echoed through the halls of Brownsville Baptist. This small, rural congregation has given approximately $7.5 million to the Cooperative Program, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, and the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions— generously, sincerely, and sacrificially.
Because of Dodd’s legacy, our membership understands the privilege of sharing in the CP. B&R