NASHVILLE (BP) — Contributions to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee in October were 0.07 percent above last year’s opening month of the Convention’s fiscal year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Page.
As of Oct. 31, gifts received by the Executive Committee for distribution through the CP Allocation Budget totaled $13,611,434.14, or $9,133.50 above the $13,602,300.64, received in October 2012.
Meanwhile, designated giving of $3,204,233.24 during October was 4.82 percent, or $147,225.45, above gifts of $3,057,007.79 received last October. This total includes only those gifts received and distributed by the Executive Committee and does not reflect designated gifts contributed directly to SBC entities.
The October total of $13,611,434.14 is 85.29 percent of the $15,958,333.33 monthly allocation budget to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America.
The convention-adopted budget for 2013-2014 is 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, 2.99 percent to the SBC operating budget and 1.65 percent to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ channel of giving, begun in 1925, through which a local church can contribute to the ministries of its state convention and the missions and ministries of the SBC with a single monthly or weekly contribution. Monies include receipts from individuals, churches, state conventions and fellowships for distribution, according to the 2012-13 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget.
Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund and other special gifts.
The end-of-month total represents money received by the Executive Committee by the close of the last business day of each month. Month-to-month swings reflect a number of factors, including the number of Sundays in a given month, the day of the month churches forward their CP contributions to their state conventions and the timing of when state conventions forward the national portion of their CP contributions to the Executive Committee.
State and regional conventions retain a portion of church contributions to the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program to support work in their respective areas and forward a percentage to Southern Baptist national and international causes. The percentage of distribution is at the discretion of each state or regional convention.
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