Both of my grandfathers were sharecroppers who lived during the Depression. From them came the ethic of hard work and making the most of what you have. Times were tough, and they were tough men. They gave their lives to working hard for something they would never own. From them came the desire to be a part of something bigger. Not to have all of life completely focused on a few acres of land and a few meager possessions was a dream that was cultivated at an early age. I was encouraged to look and learn about the world. To be thankful for God’s creation and viewing the world with a Christian perspective were directions established before I knew I was formulating a Christian worldview.

Those are some reasons I have always been an ardent supporter of the Cooperative Program.

The Cooperative Program was established in 1925. Yes, it was during the time of the Great Depression that our forefathers realized there had to be a better way than the societal form of missions funding. The societal method had each Southern Baptist Convention entity raising its own support. This was through having a speaker going to various churches and making a plea for donations on behalf of their entity. One problem was that the pastors were getting tired of having to relinquish their pulpits to give platform to all the entity requests. Another was the entity which needed the most may not receive it if they didn’t have the best speaker.

Out of those kinds of concerns came a desire to be as effective as possible in reaching the world for Christ and training leaders to be aggressively involved in the Great Commission. Hence, the SBC leadership launched the $75 Million Campaign.

Even though $75 million was not raised ($58.5 million was collected), more was given than the total of gifts to denominational causes in the previous 74 years combined. This prototype for the Cooperative Program was a catalyst for Southern Baptists, as we had entered a new century with a focus on world evangelism and a demonstrated massive effort to raise resources to engage in that worldwide venture.

The Cooperative Program was remarkably simple in principle. As churches set their budgets, they would commit a percentage of their total revenue to give to the new Cooperative Program. This financial commitment would stand instead of previous special offerings made to individual causes every time an agent showed up at the church with his plea for funds for state or national convention causes. That percentage of revenue would be sent to the state convention office, preferably on a monthly basis. Each state convention would send a percentage of Cooperative Program receipts on to the SBC. The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention would determine just how the total amount was to be apportioned to the various agencies, with the lion’s share of the resources always to go to missions, especially foreign missions.

For more than 80 years, the Cooperative Program has been our funding stream to support missions and ministries.

I believe God has awakened awareness of the Cooperative Program and its effectiveness in these days. Bob Etheridge, a predecessor of mine, coined a wonderful phrase several years ago: “The Cooperative Program is the Baptist way of funding missions that makes it possible for every member of every church of every size to be involved in changing lives for Christ in virtually every place on this planet where people live and in every way that God honors.”

When I was a teenager, I remember a deacon standing up for the Cooperative Program as our way of funding missions when others wanted to move in other directions. That had a profound effect on me. I realized that the Cooperative Program was something God was using to impact the world with the Good News. (That deacon later became my father-in-law.) From hearing about missionaries and meeting them when they came to our country church to speak, I was thrilled to know I had a part in what God was doing through them when our church gave through the Cooperative Program.

My heart still gets full when I think about and pray and give to support more than 10,000 foreign and home missionaries. I am encouraged about our future when I meet young men and women attending our Baptist universities and seminaries. I remember how important it was for me to obtain assistance with my education and training with gifts received through the Cooperative Program. To know we are caring for children and senior adults, providing services, informing one another, and serving churches so that we may “empower kingdom growth.”

This month is Cooperative Program Month. Sharing our heritage of working together, celebrating how our togetherness has brought God glory, and continuing our vision for world evangelism are efforts worthy of South Carolina Baptists’ sacrifice. Together we have made, and are continuing to make, a difference for the kingdom. I guess I still have a sharecropper’s heart. It’s not hard to commit to working for someone else when I recognize the owner is Jesus. His kingdom is majestic, and I get to be a participant. We all can be participants together through the Cooperative Program.