Learning from strawberries, tomatoes, pies — and the CP

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)–He was just a young boy, only 12-years-old, but he was a hard worker. Selling strawberries and tomatoes in his neighborhood earned him not only a little pocket change, but also a life lesson.

"I grew up in a small Baptist church in Tampa, and I was taught by my mother and my pastor there to give at an early age," recalled Tim Wilder, pastor of First Baptist Church in Kissimmee. Those early lessons of selling strawberries and tomatoes–and then tithing those earnings–took hold in the young boy’s life.

Through his teenage years, college and seminary career, and finally into adulthood and a fulltime pastoral ministry, he has continued to give. "I learned the principle of giving at an early age, and I’ve continued to live by that principle," he said.

A fellow minister in Pensacola, William Rice, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church, agrees. The lessons he learned as a child shaped his values and beliefs about giving.

"I’m glad that as a young boy growing up in Florida Baptist churches, I was taught the biblical principle of tithing. And I was challenged to excel in the grace of giving. I was modeled that and taught that. I’m glad that I have stories of God’s simple faithfulness through the years," he said.

The commitment of both pastors to personal giving has fueled their desire to lead their church members to tithe and lead their churches to participate in the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptists’ unified giving program for missions support. As their churches have grown so have their churches’ gifts through the CP.

Rice said his church has made a commitment to give a tenth of its receipts through the CP. When a church makes such a decision, it may have to rearrange its priorities, he believes. "When our priorities are right, our treasure will go where God’s heart is," he said. He further explained that God’s priority for the church to reach people locally, cross-culturally, nationally and internationally, as outlined in Acts 1:8. "For us, the greatest way [to fulfill Acts1:8] has been to give through the CP."

In Central Florida, where Wilder serves as pastor, local missions has taken on an international flavor. Because 40 percent of the county population is non-Anglo, his church, with start-up funding from the local association and the Florida Baptist Convention, has helped launch mission congregations to reach the Anglo, Haitian, Russian, Brazilian, Spanish, Arabic and Indian residents.

The church also started a crisis pregnancy center, which ministers to approximately 40 women weekly. A separate ministry center also serves about 80 homeless men and women daily.

"We are able to make a difference in our community, our state and our world ... through the Cooperative Program. We couldn’t have done [these church plants and ministries] without partnering with the Florida Baptist Convention and the Greater Orlando Baptist Association. We give to the Cooperative Program, and it comes back to us," he said.

In today’s economy, however, financial resources can be scarce. As Rice observes, a "pie" can be sliced only so many times before there is none left. His answer is not to keep slicing the CP pie into smaller pieces but, rather, to "bake more pies" by "giving others the recipe."

With the Great Commission as the recipe, more people will have a salvation experience and will then do their part to spread the Good News in many ways, including faithful giving.

"We are never more like the Father than when we give and never more like Jesus than when we give, so may God help us to excel in this grace of giving," said Rice.