Compton said the emphasis will officially begin in January 2009, but plans are already well under way. After the KBC's administrative committee approved the emphasis in August, Compton began organizing a steering committee of church leaders to help carry out the challenge and enlist the participation of other Kentucky Baptist churches.
The committee will be responsible for organizing rallies across the state in early 2009 to promote the campaign.
The rallies will be held March 3 through April 2 in 11 locations: Ashland, Bowling Green, Corbin, Elizabethtown, Hopkinsville, Independence, Lexington, Louisville, Owensboro, Paducah and Pikeville.
Following the rallies, all KBC churches will be asked to increase their CP giving over three years. Compton said the challenge will be given to churches on Cooperative Program Sunday, April 26, 2009.
"This type of undertaking will require much sacrifice, but we hope to see commitments from many of our churches," he said. "Kentucky Baptists have always given sacrificially to support missions and ministries through the Cooperative Program, and we believe it is still the most efficient way to fund these endeavors."
The current CP budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year is $24 million. Compton hopes the CP Missions Challenge will enable Kentucky Baptists to increase future budgets and "funnel more resources into missions and ministry."
"We also want the challenge to help our churches maintain stewardship and missions as priority during a time when the economy is not thriving," he said.
Steering committee members to date include:
Skip Alexander of Campbellsville Baptist Church, Campbellsville; Paul Badgett of First Baptist Church, Pikeville; Charles Barnes of Hurstbourne Baptist Church, Louisville; Pat Burkhart of Fort Mitchell Baptist Church, Fort Mitchell; Cathy Chinn of Living Faith Baptist Church in Hartford, Shirley Cox of Northside Baptist Church, Mount Vernon; Jeff Crabtree, director of missions, Warren Baptist Association; Robert Ehr of First Baptist Church, Lawrenceburg; Ray England of Second Baptist Church, Greenville; Bill Fort of First Baptist Church, Richmond; Darren Gaddis of Central Baptist Church, Corbin; Bill Henard of Porter Memorial Baptist Church, Lexington; Steven Hussung of Rich Pond Baptist Church, Bowling Green; Thomas James of Eastwood Baptist Church, Bowling Green; James Jones of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Campbellsville; Scott Kerr of Valley Creek Baptist Church, Elizabethtown; Scott Kilgore of Living Hope Baptist Church, Bowling Green; Will Langford of Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Independence; Doug Miller of Hardinsburg Baptist Church, Hardinsburg; Herschel Morgan of Bethabara Baptist Church, Philpot; Gerald Murphy, director of missions, Severns Valley Baptist Association; Floyd Paris of Unity Baptist Church, Ashland; Donnie Patrick of Crestwood Baptist Church, Crestwood; Larry Purcell of Second Baptist Church, Hopkinsville; Pat Reaves of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Louisville; Michael Rice of Fairview Baptist Church, Ashland; Nick Sandefur of Edgewood Baptist Church, Hopkinsville; Darlene Schadler of Grace Baptist Church, Independence; Tom Shelton, director of missions, Ohio County Baptist Association; Tom David Shelton of First Baptist Church, Owensboro; Paul Strahan of First Baptist Church, Owensboro; Dan Summerlin of First Baptist Church, Lone Oak; Lawrenceburg; John Mark Toby of Beacon Hill Baptist Church, Somerset; Jerry Tooley of Daviess-McLean Baptist Association; Terry Wilder of First Twelve Mile Baptist Church, California; Beth Wyatt of Corinth Baptist Church, London; and Hershael York of Buck Run Baptist Church, Frankfort.
The Cooperative Program is the plan Southern Baptists use to fund missions causes at the state, national and international levels.
The program provides foundational support for international and North American missionaries; state convention mission work; training and other help for local churches; Baptist organizations; and more.
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of more than 2,400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky.
A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative headquarters in Louisville including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more.
For more information, visit www.kybaptist.org.
