We give so others can go

Editor’s note: In celebration of the Cooperative Program’s 100th anniversary, the Texan is including in each issue this year a testimony from a pastor explaining why his church gives through and believes in CP. The following was authored by Scott Maze, senior pastor of Cross Church DFW in North Richland Hills.

We give because of international missions.

Our church gives through the Cooperative Program because of three couples serving worldwide with the International Mission Board. Yes, thousands serve with the IMB, but these three are special to us. Each of these three couples has spent significant time being a part of our church family before living abroad. One couple serves in Central Asia, while two others serve in Southeast Asia. 

I recently read an update where one couple shared the message of Christmas to a predominantly Muslim population. One of the other couples has recently shared significant gospel progress in a mountain village where Jesus’ name is little known. They have worked this area for over 15 years with little success, but that’s changing. Recently, a Buddhist father has finally embraced Christ by faith. He shares his testimony of his newfound faith in Jesus with arms spread wide as he speaks of Jesus on a cross. His enthusiasm is striking in a village where nearly every home has a small shrine to Buddha. Our church gives so they can share the good news of Jesus in these resistant areas.

We give to train future ministers.

Our church gives through the Cooperative Program so thousands of young people can be trained for ministry in one of Southern Baptists’ six seminaries. A quick comparison of Gateway, Southwestern, Southern, New Orleans, Midwestern, and Southeastern seminaries shows these are among the most attended theological schools in the nation. While nearly every other denomination’s schools declined in attendance, SBC schools witnessed a 14% increase between 2003-2022. 

Besides their excellence in biblical training, one of the reasons these six seminaries are among the largest in the U.S. is because of the reduced cost of tuition provided by the generosity of churches through the Cooperative Program. These schools are among the least expensive seminaries because we all give. While no church could operate even one of these schools independently, collectively we can impact so many young lives. Churches need staff members, pastors, and missionaries who know the gospel well in order to start and build churches around the globe.

We give to plant new, evangelistic churches.

We give through the Cooperative Program so North American Mission Board church planters can give their lives to starting hundreds of churches across North America. Experienced Christians know new works are more effective at reaching new people for Christ. Many of our denominations’ recent baptisms are due to efforts by fresh new churches dotting the North American landscape. These churches freshly contextualize the gospel so that many people say yes to Christ. We need these new churches, and our church counts it as a privilege to give to provide salary, benefits, and costs so churches can thrive. 

All these are reasons why our church family has more than doubled the amount of money we give through the Cooperative Program in the past decade.