Small Church With Big CP Heart Honored With M.E. Dodd Award
July 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. (BP)—A church with 103 members and an average 30-year Cooperative Program giving rate of 32.78 percent received the M.E. Dodd Award during the Southern Baptist Executive Committee’s morning report June 15 at the SBC annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
First Baptist Church in Sparkman, Ark., which averages 60 to 75 people for worship on Sundays, was recognized for “continuous, long-term excellence in supporting the principles, practice and spirit of the Cooperative Program.”
The award, named after the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Shreveport, La., who helped establish the Cooperative Program, is presented annually to a person, congregation or organization for sustained achievement in CP missions support.
“Since the start of the Cooperative Program, the church has given sacrificially because of a deep desire to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ all over the world,” Morris H. Chapman, president of the Executive Committee, said as he presented the award. “It has been the drive that has kept the church focused on the task of the Great Commission.
“Though overall giving fluctuates with time, their CP giving has never been up for discussion because they knew it worked. For them it is a matter of investment. They invest in CP giving because it is a tool for the spread of the Gospel,” Chapman said.
The average CP giving by the church over the past 30 years is 32.78 percent with a high of 43.49 percent and a low of 24.27 percent. Chapman said, “Now this is what the Bible calls sacrificial giving.”
Eric Moffett, pastor of First Baptist Sparkman, and his wife, along with longtime members Don and Martha White, accepted the award on behalf of the church.
“We believe that even though we’re a small church from a tiny community, with every dollar that we give we’re able to partner with missionaries and denominational servants all over the world,” Moffett said. “To us, that’s a joy and an investment. Our church would have it no other way, and we give God the glory and honor for the chance He gives us to partner with the work of God’s Kingdom all throughout this wonderful convention.”
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