NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Southern Baptist Convention
Cooperative Program receipts for December dropped 6 percent
compared to the previous year’s December, according to
Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of
the SBC Executive Committee.
For the month of December 1997, a total of $10,518,445
in CP gifts was received, compared to the same month in 1996
of $11,205,531. The $687,086 difference is 6.13 percent.
For the first quarter of the SBC fiscal year, October
through December, the CP gifts total $35,564,253 compared to
the same period of the previous year of $37,454,705, a
difference of $1,890,451 or 5.05 percent.
Designated gifts for December were $2,661,053 compared
to December 1996 of $2,748,662, a difference of $87,609 or
3.19 percent. For the year to date, designated gifts total
$7,707,660 compared to the previous year of $6,898,843, or
an increase of $808,816 which is 11.72 percent.
For the SBC’s Cooperative Program Allocation Budget,
the December total was $1,830,311 under the required monthly
budget figure of $12,348,756, or 4.82 percent. For the first
quarter of the SBC fiscal year, the total gifts are
$1,482,015 short of the budget goal of $37,046,269, or 4
percent.
The SBC Cooperative Program total includes receipts
from individuals, churches, state conventions and
fellowships for distribution according to the 1997-98
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 international missions, the Annie Armstrong
Easter Offering for North American 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.
