NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program receipts for January were down 4 percent compared to a year ago but the year-to-date receipts are still up more than 7 percent, according to Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the SBC Executive Committee.
For January 1999, the CP receipts totaled $16,269,698 compared to January 1998 of $16,970,404, a decrease of 4.13 percent or $700,706.
For the SBC fiscal year, after four months, CP gifts totaled $56,233,784 compared to the previous year’s total of $52,534,658, an increase of 7.04 percent or $3,699,126.
Designated gifts for the month of January were $20,514,687 compared to the same month in 1998 of $21,412,350, a decrease of 4.19 percent or $897,663. For the year to date, designated gifts total $29,073,547 compared to the previous year of $29,120,010, a slight decrease of 0.16 percent or $46,463.
For the SBC’s Program Allocation Budget, at the end of four months, the required budget amount of $51,668,574 was surpassed by $4,656,210, an increase of 8.84 percent. For the month of January, the required monthly budget figure of $12,917,143 was surpassed by $3,352,554, or an increase of 25.95 percent.
The SBC Cooperative Program total includes receipts from individuals, churches, state conventions and fellowships for distribution according to the 1998-99 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.
