Helping make seminary affordable
A Missouri Baptist University provost expresses gratitude for the CP gifts that enabled him to earn an advanced degree
This is another in a series of features on Missouri Baptist ministries supported for a century through the Cooperative Program giving of MBC-affiliated churches.
By Andy Chambers
Cooperative Program ministries have blessed me my entire life. Raised in a Missouri Baptist church, I learned at an early age that Baptists can accomplish more when we work together than when we work as individuals or isolated churches.
I learned to give joyfully each year to the annual Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong missions offerings. At the same time, I was taught that when churches commit to regular giving through the Cooperative Program, it enables kingdom ministries – like our three Missouri Baptist universities – to plan for and carry out their missions more effectively. In doing so, our missionaries can focus on their primary task: reaching, making, and equipping disciples around the world.
Whether the ministry is church planting and renewal, care for children and the elderly, or Christian education on the state level, or whether it’s missions and seminary education on a national level, regular giving through the Cooperative Program helps all of us do more effective work for the kingdom of God.
For me, the biggest blessing I have experienced through the Cooperative Program was the way it helped me afford to go to seminary.
Years ago, as a student, I remember walking with my wife and some friends around the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Located in Fort Worth, Texas, Southwestern is one of six Southern Baptist seminaries supported by Cooperative Program dollars. This place transformed our lives.
Our friends attended a seminary in another denomination and were in town visiting us. They were astonished at the size and large enrollment of my seminary. They were even more surprised at the affordable price.
I grew up in a middle-class home. My brother, sister, and I all took out student loans for college and graduate school. The three of us happened to attend Southwestern Seminary together, and we took for granted how affordable our seminary education was.
What we did not yet understand was just how important the Cooperative Program gifts were. The faithful giving of Southern Baptists allowed us to experience reduced tuition costs. I praise God that Southern Baptists, and especially faithful Missouri Baptists, gave and continue to give to the Cooperative Program. Our giving enables SBC seminaries to offset operating expenses and further help our students be equipped for gospel ministry, leaving with limited or no debt.
Today, I work at Missouri Baptist University, a Missouri Baptist Convention ministry supported by Cooperative Program gifts from more than 1,700 local churches. Every day, I get to see firsthand how CP gifts support our work at MBU and help make it more affordable for students.
Through Cooperative Program support, Missouri Baptist University can reduce the costs of college education for students, support students on mission trips, hire outstanding Christian faculty, and train the next generation of kingdom citizens in fields like healthcare, education, social work, business, ministry and missions, and more.
The genius of the Cooperative Program, begun one hundred years ago, is exceeded only by the reach and impact of the ministries it supports and the blessing of God on our work. I pray for an even greater vision to dawn on Southern Baptists for what cooperation in kingdom ministries can accomplish.
Thank you, Missouri Baptists, for supporting my training. Forty years into vocational ministry, I am still grateful.
Andy Chambers is Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Missouri Baptist University.
