At their annual meeting, messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention voted to narrow the number of churches who may participate with the convention.  To be accepted as a Missouri Baptist Convention church, a church must be “singly” aligned.  In other words, a church cannot give mission dollars to certain other groups, such as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or Baptist World Alliance, and still cooperate with the convention.

            Now the Missouri convention, as an autonomous Baptist body, has the right to specify who may participate with them.  But their action is a serious challenge to the autonomy of local Baptist churches.  Although a local church is free to send mission support to any or all groups deemed worthy of its support, the Missouri Convention is saying to churches in the state, “You are not free to support certain other groups if you want to be part of our convention, you must give only to us and to those we approve.”  This is a form of subtle, or not so subtle, pressure to make local churches conform to the wishes of the state convention.  A permanent committee has been formed to ensure that participating churches conform to the convention’s giving requirements.

            The Alabama State Baptist Convention, as stated in its Constitution, receives only funds given to the Cooperative Program or designated to causes promoted by the state convention or the SBC.  This has not changed.  But many churches contribute generously to the Cooperative Program and also contribute to the CBF, the Baptist World Alliance and other non SBC entities.  The state convention also receives gifts designated for use in Alabama missions programs only.  The churches contributing to the Cooperative Program or state missions causes in Alabama, participate in the Alabama Baptist State Convention

even if they give to other missions causes.  This honors the autonomy of the local church. 

The missionaries of the Alabama Baptist Convention, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship – in fact, any missionary seeking to spread the gospel at home or abroad is worthy of support.  And support should be welcome from any Baptist church.