Dan Spencer — Baptist Press photo
I once heard Morris Chapman make an astounding claim when he was president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, a position he held for 18 years.
“I have been involved in a lot of gospel work in the last week,” he said to the group.
“On Monday, I taught a preaching class at Southeastern Seminary. On Tuesday, I worked with some of our missionaries in sub-Saharan Africa. On Wednesday, I trained church planters in California. On Thursday, I met with state convention leaders in New England. On Friday, I led a conference for pastors in Montana. On Saturday, I preached to college students at a Baptist Collegiate Ministry in Tennessee. And on Sunday, I baptized some new believers in Central Asia. So, I’ve been busy.”
An uneasy silence filled the room as people tried to calculate travel time to such geographically scattered places. It was a bold — and seemingly unbelievable — claim.
“You are probably wondering how I could possibly say I’ve been involved in all those things in a single week,” Chapman finally said, breaking the tension. “But I can say that because my church gives through the Cooperative Program. I have a part in all the work Southern Baptists are doing all over the world.”
Morris Chapman isn’t an exception. Every Southern Baptist and Tennessee Baptist who belongs to a church that faithfully gives through the Cooperative Program can legitimately make the same claim. Through the Cooperative Program, we truly can do more together than we can apart. That is not a cliché; it is a reality.
Consider the scope of the task before us. The International Mission Board reports that 59% of the world’s population has no meaningful access to the gospel. The North American Mission Board cites tens of millions of people in North America who do not identify as Christian and lack regular involvement in a faith community. Here in Tennessee, nearly half of the state’s 7.3 million residents seldom or never attend religious services of any kind.
That represents millions — even billions — of people with no relationship with Jesus Christ. The fields truly are white unto harvest. Yet when the median size of a Tennessee Baptist church is fewer than 65 people, the question becomes unavoidable: How can we make a meaningful impact against a tsunami of spiritual lostness?
The Cooperative Program.
For more than 100 years, Southern Baptists have invested more than $20 billion in Great Commission ministry and missions. That astounding figure represents churches working together to accomplish something eternally significant — together.
In recent years, however, some churches have moved away from Cooperative Program giving. While congregations face real financial and ministry pressures, this shift can limit how far a church’s gospel influence can extend. Why unnecessarily restrict what a body of believers, under the Lordship of Christ, can accomplish?
I am grateful to pastor a church more than 230 years old with a deep history of generosity, particularly through Cooperative Program giving.
That commitment was embedded in the church’s DNA long before I arrived. We rejoice in knowing our congregation is part of a vast missionary network — one whose Great Commission work truly never stops.
Last year’s Summit theme, “All Aboard: Advancing Together,” captured that vision well. Tennessee Baptists collectively affirmed a direction focused on developing gospel leaders, making evangelistic disciples, and cultivating healthy and multiplying churches.
If that is what we say we want to see, then we must be willing to support it financially.
The train has left the station, but there is still room aboard. We have a destination, and the Cooperative Program remains the most effective means for Tennessee Baptists to advance together — until every Tennessean hears the gospel. B&R
