Change is a fact of life and a common response to it is resistance. I have experienced this with the renaming of church and convention titles. I resisted the change in referring to the Sunday school superintendent as the Sunday school director. I had the same concern when Discipleship Training replaced Training Union, the Foreign Mission Board became the International Mission Board and the Baptist Bookstore became LifeWay. Though I processed these changes, it wasn’t until I understood the reasons behind the new names that I gained an appreciation for the more descriptive terms.

One name I am glad no one has changed is the Cooperative Program. Changing it has been discussed, but the name fits because it is a program built on cooperation. Although I became the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s executive associate for the Cooperative Program and resources just three months ago, this conviction was instilled in me years ago, as I am a product of such cooperation.

At age six, I stood in line at Salem Baptist Church in Cave City to participate in a vacation Bible school worship service. I accidentally swallowed the nickel my dad had given me to place in the missions offering. With the coin lodged in my throat, two Bible teachers picked me up by my heels and beat me on the back, popping the nickel to the ground. This harrowing experience served as a reminder of parents and the church working together to share Jesus Christ with me.

At age 15, I served as a Royal Ambassador counselor at Camp Joy in Brownsville. It was that week I began to understand God was calling me to full-time Christian service. Camp Joy was a ministry of cooperation of regional churches and local Baptist associations.

While studying at Campbellsville University, I learned from my professors that my education was supported by the joint investments of many Kentucky Baptists. I graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary knowing this journey in life was made possible by Southern Baptists who had a vision to prepare future generations to be on mission with God. Having been shaped for ministry through these childhood experiences and educational opportunities, as well as pastoring seven churches, I learned firsthand the impact Kentucky Baptists have through the Cooperative Program. I have witnessed God multiplying individual investments as they are joined with other cooperating churches to tell the Good News.

The Cooperative Program is a missional infrastructure in being witnesses for Christ simultaneously “in Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Nothing has more potential for witness than the synergy of churches combining their resources to strengthen other churches and ministries. The Cooperative Program provides 90 percent of the KBC’s budgeted funds for a composite of missions and ministry needs.

Ultimately, the strength of the Cooperative Program lies in its team approach. Individuals give offerings to their churches, which then designate a portion of their budgets through the Cooperative Program to support missions agencies and institutions. The KBC channels a portion of these funds to the Southern Baptist Convention, making possible the broader mission endeavors of Southern Baptists. This cooperative work can be defined as “together everyone achieves more.” Through the collective effort of Kentucky Baptist churches, the Cooperative Program becomes an extension of the churches fulfilling the Great Commission and Acts 1:8.

I invite you to join Kentucky Baptists throughout our state in celebrating April as Cooperative Program Month, and April 13 as Cooperative Program Sunday. You cannot get better than the Cooperative Program for cooperation. We don’t need to rename it; we just need to keep reminding others of its tremendous history and its bright future. If we do change the name of the Cooperative Program, let’s rename it the Cooperative Program.

Billy Compton is the KBC’s executive associate for Cooperative Program and resources