Roc Collins
By Roc Collins
Pastor in Kingsport
As followers of Christ we have been called to “Go and Make Disciples.” What a great task is ours!
There is no one person who can fulfill that mission alone. God, in His infinite wisdom, has granted us the opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission by working together. Certainly we can get together to participate in ministry but there is another way.
We can give through the Cooperative Program (CP). As we give through the CP we are giving fuel to fulfill the Great Commission. The whole purpose of our giving is to point people to Jesus Christ.
The Cooperative Program works in our beloved state of Tennessee and the Southern Baptist Convention to reach our world.
We far too often simply view giving to the Cooperative Program as a money issue. Though money is involved, that is not the point. The CP was set up so that together we could reach our world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
That “Good News” is all that will help our world. Political systems, treaties, court rulings, and any other myriads of man made and driven endeavors will never save a soul. Our reliance must be on Christ alone!
The Tennessee Baptist Convention is moving toward giving 50-50 between the state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. That means that we will keep 50 percent of all CP gifts in Tennessee in an attempt to reach more than 3 million lost people in our state. Then 50 percent will go to the SBC in order to reach our nation and the nations.
Though there is much discussion about this move and who will need to cut their budgets, we seem to forget that the numbers would not have to decrease but could actually increase if we would give more than we are currently giving.
The average SBC church gives around 6 percent through the Cooperative Program. The Tennessee Baptist Convention is a pace-setting convention. Can you imagine what God might do if every church in the TBC would give above the SBC average?
As fall approaches the leaves will fall, the weather will cool, and football season will begin. There is an air of excitement in Tennessee this year believing that the University of Tennessee Volunteers will have a great season. All across the state people are talking about the Vols and a potential return to the days of championship football.
I do love the Vols but how much more exciting it would be to see Tennessee Baptists joining hands as never before to win the lost to Jesus.
We can do it! Join me and thousands of Baptists across our beloved state and give through the Cooperative Program and let’s win Tennessee to Jesus!
