WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program has been hailed as the greatest mission giving program in the history of the world; and
WHEREAS, In 1979 the Southern Baptist Convention defined the Cooperative Program as “a financial channel of cooperation between the state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention which makes it possible for all persons making undesignated gifts through their church to support the missionary, education, and benevolent work in their state convention, and also the work of the Southern Baptist Convention;” and
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have given nearly ten billion dollars through the Cooperative Program during the last 75 years to support over 6,000 North American missionaries and 13,000 international missionaries, to educate 140,000 seminary students, to start thousands of new churches, to fund countless benevolent and relief ministries, and to underwrite a whole array of other Christian endeavors; and
WHEREAS, The Cooperative Program, which is in its seventh consecutive year of record receipts, continues to be the most efficient and effective model of united missions support; and
WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention and the state Baptist conventions have embraced the 75th Anniversary theme “Partners in the Harvest” and are praying in the year 2000 for 1,000,000 baptisms worldwide, more volunteers on mission than ever before, and $750,000,000 given through the Cooperative Program and the missions offerings.
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 13-14, 2000, on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Cooperative Program, express gratitude to God for His providential guidance in the creation of the Cooperative Program and for His multiplied blessings through this missions support enterprise; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we commend the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention for their commitment to world evangelization and for 75 years of faithful giving through the Cooperative Program; and
Be it finally RESOLVED, That we encourage every Southern Baptist congregation to conduct a local church “Partners in the Harvest” 75th Anniversary celebration and to consider prayerfully increasing by one percent the amount of their church budget giving to the Cooperative Program for the 75th Anniversary year.