By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
FRANKLIN — When the books closed Oct. 31 on the 2018-19 fiscal year, Tennessee Baptists had given $34,719,604 through the Cooperative Program.
The amount is $115,032 or 0.3 percent more than was given for 2017-18 and $219,604 or 0.64 percent above budget.
Tennessee Baptist Convention churches finished the year strong, giving $3,222,974 through the CP budget in October.
“It is so very encouraging to see our 2018-19 fiscal year Cooperative Program Missions and Ministry budget goal of $34,500,000. exceeded by $219,604, surpassing the total giving of the previous year,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
This meant that SBC and TBC Great Commission work is receiving more dollars from generous Tennessee Baptist churches than expected, he noted. “We thank God for His provision!”
The proposed 2019-20 Cooperative Program budget to be presented at the Tennessee Baptist Convention is a challenging $500,000 increase, Davis continued. “Yet, I’ve been hearing of many of our churches looking to increase what they currently send through the Cooperative Program to accomplish local and global missions and ministry work. I want to thank all of our churches for what they have given!”
Another encouraging sign is that we are all seeing Tennessee as a “mission field, anyway you slice it,” Davis said, noting that in the first two months (September and October) of the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions giving year, the GOTM has seen the strongest start in its history with more than $900,000 in gifts. That is coming off last year when Tennessee Baptists set a record for GOTM giving.
“That appears likely to be eclipsed this year,” Davis said. “Thank you, Tennessee Baptists, for your faithful generosity!”
