NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program receipts for January were down 7.66 percent compared to last year’s January, according to Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the SBC Executive Committee, while CP gifts for the fiscal year remained 6.87 percent ahead of the previous year.
January 1997 CP gifts totaled $14,075,108, compared to January 1996 of $15,241,892, a difference of $1,166,784 or .66 percent.
For the four months of the SBC fiscal year, CP gifts totaled $51,529,813 compared to the same period a year ago of $48,216,077, a difference of $3,313,736 or 6.87 percent.
The SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget requires a monthly total of $12,087,791. Compared to that figure, the January gifts exceeded the budget requirement by $1,987,317 or 16.44 percent. For year-to-date gifts compared to the budget requirements, the budget has been exceeded by $3,178,647 or 6.57 percent for the first four months of
the fiscal year.
Designated gifts for January were $19,798,348 compared to last year’s January of $17,249,997, a difference of $2,548,351 or an increase of 14.77 percent. For the year to date, designated gifts of $26,697,192 exceeded the previous year’s period of $25,593,105 by $1,104,087 or an increase of 4.31 percent.
The SBC Cooperative Program total includes receipts from individuals, churches, state conventions and fellowships for distribution according to the 1996-97 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget.
The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ method of supporting missions and ministry efforts of state and regional conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention. Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for foreign missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for home missions, world hunger and other special gifts.
State and regional conventions retain a percentage of Cooperative Program contributions they receive from the churches to support work in their areas and send the remaining funds to the Executive Committee for national and international ministries. The percentage of distribution is at the discretion of each state or regional convention.
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