SBC Cooperative Program almost meets projection for fiscal year

NASHVILLE (BP and local reports) — As the 2023 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, giving to the National Cooperative Program (CP) Allocation Budget was ever so slightly under expectations.

The CP budget as approved by messengers to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention was set at $192,270,000. The actual amount received was $191,851,947, which was $418,053, or .22%, short of budget.

“Because of the faithfulness of Southern Baptists giving through the Cooperative Program, we are able to support thousands of missionaries and church planters, train and educate the next generation of church leaders, and respond quickly and effectively when disaster strikes,” said Jonathan Howe, interim president and CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in Nashville.

“I am so thankful for every church that chooses to give sacrificially through the Cooperative Program to fund Southern Baptist ministries around the globe,” he said.

Compared to the 2021-2022 fiscal year, total CP gifts were down 4.29%, and designated giving through state conventions was down 2.9%.

“The past year has been economically challenging for many Southern Baptists,” Howe said, “but to reach nearly $192 million in national Cooperative Program giving in such a challenging economic environment shows the dedication and commitment Southern Baptists have to the mission we have been tasked with as believers — taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”

The CP budget for 2022-2023 included an initial $200,000 special priority allocation for the SBC Vision 2025 initiative. Cooperative Program funds were then disbursed as follows:

— 50.4% to international missions through Southern Baptists’ International Mission Board in Richmond, Va.

— 22.8% to Southern Baptists’ North American missions through the North American Mission Board in Alpharetta, Ga.

— 22.2% percent to theological education through the six SBC seminaries and the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives.

— Three percent to the SBC operating budget.

— 1.65% to the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in Nashville.

The Cooperative begins at participating churches, which collect an offering, retain a portion for local ministries, and forward the remainder to state Baptist conventions. The state Baptist conventions retain a portion for state ministries and forward the remainder to the SBC executive committee.

The SBC Executive Committee distributes all CP and designated gifts it receives on a weekly basis to the SBC ministry entities. CP allocation budget gifts received by the Executive Committee are reported monthly and posted online here.

For more information on CP giving in Mississippi, click here.