10 | July 2025
At 100, CP’s Past Portends Bright Future By David Roach, writer, Mobile, Alabama
NASHVILLE (BP) – It was a challenging time for the SBC’s Cooperative Program (CP). The U.S. economy slowed. Baptist leaders committed embarrassing and costly sins. As some alleged creeping liberalism in the Convention, doctrinal squabbles threatened cooperation. The SBC president put it this way: “Many of our people have become discouraged and disheartened, while oth- ers have lost their enthusiasm and devotion to kingdom work. We have seemed to be united in nothing but the opinion that the denomination is in a bad way.” If you think that’s a description of 2025, think again. That was the situation in the SBC nearly a century ago, de- scribed by then-SBC President W.J. McGlothlin. But the tide turned. Despite appearing on the brink of failure, CP persisted in what historians cite as an example for to- day’s SBC as the Cooperative Program turns 100 years old and faces similar trials. “In the midst of all those challenges, we always ad - dressed the individual challenge but under the overarch- ing idea that we needed to focus on remaining together,” said Lloyd Harsch, professor of church history and Bap- tist studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. A dark past The challenges to CP were serious in the 1920s and 1930s. First, there was the financial downturn. In 1919, the SBC launched a precursor program to CP, the 75 Million Campaign, to raise $75 million for Con- vention missions and ministries. By May 1920, South- ern Baptists had pledged $92.6 million to the campaign. Then recession hit before the pledges were fulfilled and actual gifts totaled just $58.6 million. Unfortunately, Convention ministries had committed themselves to spending in line with the pledges. That ne- cessitated SBC entities’ taking on debt of approximately $6.5 million by 1926, the equivalent of $117 million today. The Great Depression made matters worse. The dollar was worth less, and more money was required to repay the loans. Leadership failures compounded the problem. In 1928 it was discovered that Home Mission Board (HMB) treasur - er Clinton Carnes had stolen $909,461 – the equivalent of nearly $17 million today. The previous year, the For- eign Mission Board learned that its treasurer had stolen more than $103,000. The situation became so dire by the 1930s that HMB creditors suggested filing bankruptcy. Doctrinal divisions complicated the SBC’s efforts to uni - fy and climb out of its financial hole. Amid the Modern - ist-Fundamentalist Controversy of the early 20th century, Texas pastor J. Frank Norris attacked Convention leaders
Celebrating the Cooperative Program Episode Three: CP100 - Gary Frost
Throughout 2025, SCBO is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Cooperative Program with “CP100,” a series of interviews highlighting the im - pact of the Cooperative Program on churches and individuals in each of Ohio’s six regions. This month, CP100 visits the Northeast Region of Ohio. The Cooperative Program isn’t like a club mem- bership, according to Pastor Gary Frost, The Open Door Church, Youngstown. “The issue is not what you get out of it. It’s what you are joining others to do in advancing the kingdom,” he said. As a long- time Southern Baptist pastor, association leader, state leader, and NAMB vice president, Frost has a deep love for the SBC and the Cooperative Pro- gram. “I love this convention. I believe in the pur - pose and the vision. Just watching how the Coop- erative Program operates – we call it a ‘program,’ but it’s a cooperative culture.” Don’t miss episode three: CP100: Gary Frost.
as modernists, those denying the truth of Scripture and adapting Christianity to modern culture.
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