"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building."

The Cooperative Program involves many Baptists working together in God's kingdom, building God's church. The CP allows Southern Baptists to invest God's money - the money He has put in each of our hands in many ministries and missions.

Pastor Johnson was having lunch with Tom, a young businessman who had recently joined the church.

"I grew up going to church," Tom said. "The church my family attended did things differently. For instance, several times a year we had missionary families come in and share big programs, and the church would have fund raising campaigns and would adopt several missionaries."

"What about the rest," asked Pastor Johnson, "the other missionaries from the same kind of churches?"

"Well, obviously no church could support all of them, so we invested in three or four missionary families, and other churches did the same," said Tom.

"We do things a bit differently, as you have noticed," said Pastor Johnson. "We work through what we call the Cooperative Program. Let me tell you why."

"You used the word invest, a moment ago. Think of CP as a mutual fund." Tom's eyes brightened. He was a savvy, personal investor. Johnson continued, "As you know, a mutual fund enables inventors to pool their money and place it under professional management. The manager makes the trades and collects the dividends. The investment proceeds are then passed along to the individual investors. Mutual funds can invest many things - cash, stocks, bonds - and the manager adjusts the balance for greatest profit."

"You said no one could support all missionaries. Well, my gift through CP supports more than 10,000 missionaries, from right here in this county, throughout this state, across the country, and around the world. My gift pays for educating pastors and missionaries and it supports ministries throughout our denominational work. At our church, we can invite as many missionaries as we like to come tell us about the work they are doing with our support. But we aren't limited to supporting just a few families. We support them all. And the dividends are treasure in heaven."

CP is the smart investor's way of guaranteeing a high yield for the kingdom of God!

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."

Contact the Cooperative Program Office for more information at (803)765-0030 or (800-723-7242 in state) or to order this tract free of charge to South Carolina Baptist churches. To download a copy of this tract, click on the following link: The Mutual Funding Solution