Measuring the full impact of Kentucky Baptist churches working together to reach Kentucky and the world for Christ is impossible. Only heaven itself will reveal the full measure of our cooperative efforts. We do, however, get occasional glimpses of the fruit of churches working together to advance the gospel.
Kentucky Baptists have a great history of cooperation. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program in May 2025, we know its origin is much earlier and finds its roots in the commonwealth. Those roots go back to First Baptist Church in Murray, Ky., where then-Pastor Boyce Taylor implemented what was called a “unified giving plan” in 1900.
According to the Kentucky Baptist Convention website, the unified giving plan “was designed to prevent individual Baptist organizations and missionaries from having to solicit funding from the church.”
Taylor’s idea caught on and in 1915 Kentucky Baptists adopted the cooperative missions funding program, and 10 years later the entire Southern Baptist Convention adopted the Cooperative Program funding plan. In 2025, if giving trends remain the same, Kentucky Baptist churches will surpass the $1 billion mark for gospel advancement through CP giving.
Today, the Cooperative Program funds more than 3,500 international missionaries and their families and the planting of more than 11,000 churches in North America since 2010—several of those right here in Kentucky and much more.
But here are a few ways the Cooperative Program is making a difference right here in the commonwealth:
1. By training leaders for gospel ministry: Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, Boyce College and Southern Seminary partner with KBC churches in training the next generation of ministry leaders. Kentucky Baptists have excellent ministry training options without leaving the state. A total of more than 24,000 students are being trained at the six SBC schools and 19% of all theological education takes place through Southern Baptist seminaries.
2. By reaching students with the gospel: As partners with the local church, Crossings Ministries hosted 23,818 students and children at camp in 2024. Eight hundred and seventy-five of those students professed faith in Christ. More than 1500 reported a call to Christian ministry and together they gave $160,002 for gospel-advancing mission work.
3. By caring for abused and neglected children: Each year Sunrise Children’s Services partners with Kentucky Baptist churches to respond to the foster care crisis in Kentucky. More than 8,000 children are placed in out-of-home care by the state. In 2023, Sunrise served 1,228 children and adults across the commonwealth. Just last week it celebrated 687 children being adopted into permanent homes through Sunrise since 2009.
4. By educating children through Oneida Baptist Institute: In 2023, Oneida Baptist Institute, our Kentucky Baptist K-12 school in eastern Kentucky, continued to grow. It saw a 15% increase in enrollment over the previous year—and more than 25 students made professions of faith. Last year every graduating senior professed faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
5. By caring for impacted people for through Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief: KBC Disaster Relief volunteers, who are members of Kentucky Baptist churches, served more than 1,600 volunteer days, or 13,000 volunteer hours, in 2023. They helped more than 150 families in 30 communities and six states, as well as Puerto Rico and Cape Town, South Africa. Their work resulted in 650 ministry contacts, 123 gospel conversations, 150 Bibles distributed and at least one salvation. When others are at their worst, Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are at their best.
6. By reaching college students with the gospel: Kentucky Baptist campus ministry partners with KBC churches and associations by having a gospel presence on 35 college campuses in Kentucky. Each year, thousands of students hear the gospel and are challenged with discipleship in an effort to connect them to local Kentucky Baptist churches for growth and service. This year, there were 5,573 gospel conversations on Kentucky’s college campuses and 671 students were trained in personal evangelism.
7. By impacting a region of our state through Hope for West KY: The KBC, in partnership with local churches, will be hosting the Hope for West Kentucky Crusade in Paducah on Nov. 10, right before the Pastors’ Conference and Annual Meeting. The event will conclude a week-long series of outreach efforts that will include school assemblies and a student rally, a Hispanic festival and college campus outreach. You can find all the information here.
“Better Together” is a theme for many in ministry, business or state and national politics. For Kentucky Baptists it is more than a motto—it is our way of life. Thank you, Kentucky Baptists, for advancing the gospel together in Kentucky and across the earth. We are truly Together for the Mission.
Dr. Todd Gray 