In an effort to join stewardship and missions giving, leaders from churches across the state gathered Sept. 7 in Winnsboro for the Cooperative Program Missions Champions banquet to discuss the significance of Cooperative Program giving and ways to teach congregations about biblical stewardship.
Ken Hemphill, left, national EKG strategist, and Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, were among the speakers.Cooperative Missions Champions, a name given to members of churches who have chosen to give 10 percent or more of their budgets to the Cooperative Program or who have expressed an interest to increase their giving, were invited to attend.
The meeting was birthed after Gary Anderson, Cooperative Program director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, read a national Cooperative Program report and realized how much churches needed education in stewardship and wanted to offer an opportunity for networking and training.
“This is not a program, but a long-term emphasis,” said Anderson.
“We want to make very clear to these churches that it is not what we want from them, but what we want for them,” added Russell Patterson, director of stewardship development for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
Ken Hemphill, national Empowering Kingdom Growth strategist, walked attendees through his new book, “Making Change: A Transformational Guide to Christian Money Management,” in which he explores Old and New Testament scripture as it relates to biblical stewardship.
“Any time you attempt change without changing the heart, you will meet resistance. If you don’t change the heart, you are not going to change the structure,” said Hemphill.
Hemphill also told attendees that God always honors sacrificial giving.
“Challenge your people to give to a level that is supernatural,” he said.
Frank Page, pastor of First Baptist Church, Taylors, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, gave a personal testimony of how his church has committed to the Cooperative Program, saying that it truly is a group effort.
“The Cooperative Program is essentially being a part of a ministry that will take you to places where your local church cannot go alone, and that is to all the world,” he said.
“CP is not divine, but it is funding a divine vision,” Page continued.
Chuck Bentley of Crown Financial Ministries was also on hand to encourage leaders to teach their congregations biblical money management before their members seek other avenues to fill the void.
“This is not a peripheral issue of getting on a budget – we are saying to the church to let the world take care of money, and it is neutralizing the issue. Satan has taken our people captive,” said Bentley.
Saying that “no one likes stooges,” Bentley asserted that giving is always a good decision.
Regional events similar to this one will follow in 2007, where all churches will have the opportunity to discuss Cooperative Program giving and be trained in biblical stewardship principles.
In the end, Anderson sees real opportunity to change the hearts and lives of church members.
“We don’t want to sit around and argue about who gets what piece of the pie. We want to talk about how to make the pie bigger,” he said.
Editor’s Note: “The Treasurer Principle,” a study in biblical stewardship, is available for churches to check out from the stewardship development office. For more information, contact Jackie McNeal at (800) 723-7242, ext. 1600.