[1]NASHVILLE (BP) – As the fiscal year winds to a close, giving through the SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget remains well above budget after total gifts in August amounted to just under $16.9 million. With one month left in the fiscal year, giving has surpassed the budget projection every month of the year except two – December and February.
“I hope Southern Baptists rejoice with us over the bountiful blessings given by our churches toward the Great Commission ministries of the SBC,” said SBC Executive Committee President and CEO Ronnie Floyd in a statement. “Our churches understand the pressing need for sending more missionaries overseas, planting new congregations across North America, and preparing the called-out ones to enter into local church ministry or to go to the nations.
“Thank you to every CP-giving church and every pastor who encourages personal, biblical stewardship, and praise God for churches who give to furthering the Gospel where the Gospel has never been before.”
The total amount given through the national Cooperative Program Allocation Budget in August 2021 totaled $16,869,720.70, which was $791,111.65 (4.92 percent) more than the $16,078,609.05 received in August 2020 and $1,296,804.03 (8.33 percent) more than the monthly budgeted amount of $15,572,916.67.
As of August 31, gifts received by the EC for distribution through the CP Allocation Budget total $178,916,007.82. This is $838,466.63 or 0.47 percent more than last year’s budget contribution of $178,077,541.19 and ahead of the $171,302,083.37 year-to-date budgeted projection to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America by $7,613,924.45 or 4.44 percent.
Designated gifts received in August amounted to $7,044,562.82. This total was $871,285.35, or 14.11 percent, above gifts of $6,173,277.47 received last August. Also, this year’s designated gifts through the first 11 months of the fiscal year amount to $188,885,073.75, which is $19,376,848.35, or 11.43 percent, more than the $169,508,225.40 given through same period in the previous fiscal year.
[2]Total Cooperative Program giving includes all monies given by churches through state conventions to be used for Great Commission ministry and missions within the respective states, across North America and around the world. Begun in 1925, the Cooperative Program is the financial fuel to fund the SBC mission and vision of reaching every person for Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state and every nation. Monies are distributed according to the 2020-2021 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget.
State and regional conventions retain a portion of church contributions to Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program to support work in their respective areas and forward a percentage to SBC national and international causes. The percentage of distribution is at the discretion of each state or regional convention.
The convention-adopted budget for 2020-2021 is $186.875 million and includes an initial $200,000 special priority allocation for the SBC Vision 2025 initiative. Cooperative Program funds are then disbursed as follows: 50.41 percent to international missions through the International Mission Board, 22.79 percent to North American missions through the North American Mission Board, 22.16 percent to theological education through the six SBC seminaries and the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, 2.99 percent to the SBC operating budget and 1.65 percent to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. If national CP gifts exceed the $186.875 million budget projection at the end of the fiscal year, 10 percent of the overage is to be used to support the SBC’s Vision 2025 initiative with the balance of the overage distributed according to the percentages approved for budgetary distribution. The SBC Executive Committee distributes all CP and designated gifts it receives on a weekly basis to the SBC ministry entities.
Month-to-month swings reflect a number of factors, including the timing of when the cooperating state Baptist conventions forward the national portion of Cooperative Program contributions to the Executive Committee, the day of the month churches forward their CP contributions to their state conventions, the number of Sundays in a given month, and the percentage of CP contributions forwarded to the SBC by the state conventions after shared ministry expenses are deducted.
Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, Southern Baptist Global Hunger Relief, Disaster Relief and other special gifts. This total includes only those gifts received and distributed by the Executive Committee and does not reflect designated gifts contributed directly to SBC entities.
CP allocation budget gifts received by the Executive Committee are reported monthly and posted online at sbc.net/cp.
Editor’s Note: This headline was corrected after publication with the correct percentage of increase.