This is the third part of an interview with Dr. Billy Compton. Billy is the former Pastor of Severns Valley Baptist Church and several other Kentucky Baptist churches and is a past President of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He joined the staff of the Kentucky Baptist Convention a little over a year ago and serves as the Executive Associate for Cooperative Program and Resources. I appreciate Billy's willingness to sit down with me for this interview. What he says is relevant and important. If you have not read Parts I and II, you will find it helpful to go back and read these past posts.
Larry: Billy, you have been with the KBC for a little over a year. I know you have traveled and have been listening to many KBC pastors and other leaders as you have put together a strategy to bring about a resurgence of the Cooperative Program. Can you share this strategy with my readers?
Billy: Yes, but first let me say thanks for the Q and A interview we began two weeks ago. I was able to explain how my pastoral ministry, serving in churches like Living Hope Baptist Church and Severns Valley Baptist Church, has been inextricably connected to supporting mission causes through the Cooperative Program. “I was and continue to be a Cooperative Program champion!”
Okay, now about strategy and to answer your question. My goal is to be a friend and resource to Kentucky Baptist pastors and leaders. Each one is unique in who they are as well as where, how and who they serve. I have observed the passion and dedication of these individuals. Understandably then, I make known my vision for the Cooperative Program and how churches are blessed by giving. I like to share the educational, informational and inspirational multimedia and other resources assembled that can assist churches in their quest to support missions. From that, pastors make decisions about what will speak most appropriately to their congregations to tell the Cooperative Program story. For example, just a missions moment shared when receiving tithes and offerings in worship can help to inspire and educate church members of the tremendous results of connecting people to Christ through their CP gifts.
Education involves explaining how Cooperative Program distribution works and the rationale behind the division of Cooperative Program funds. Education requires reminding those who give to the Cooperative Program that it is effective and efficient for providing ministries and missions funding.
Information about the Cooperative Program requires making known where these dollars are making a difference in Kentucky and around the world.
Inspiration is putting a face on those missionaries and ministries by telling their stories and the people they are impacting with the gospel.
Larry: How do you envision the future of the CP?
Billy: I envision foremost that, no matter what form of promoting the Cooperative Program is used, that the success of the missions support in our convention will rely on making its effect personal. Few Christians are motivated by numbers only and information about a program, but when they understand what life has been changed, what family has been strengthened, or how a church has been renewed then a unified effort is created among churches for doing more together than what we can do alone.
I feel positive about the future of the Cooperative Program. I go back to the analogy is the glass half full or half empty? I believe there are signs the CP glass is half full and has a bright future. The Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) emphasis is a sign that indicates Southern Baptists are intensifying a refocus on Acts 1:8 and Matt. 28:18-20.
The CP will continue to need focus and attention if we are to experience a Great Commissi on Resurgence (GCR). There are a number of young leaders who are expressing discontent much of it because they have never been educated about the Cooperative Program and the way it helps Southern Baptists carry out the Great Commission. Others, for various reasons, have forgotten how effective the CP is in connecting people to Christ.
Fortunately, the conversation has put CP back on the radar screen. We are being challenged with opportunities to teach and reteach about CP. There is a certain tension that has been created by today’s events, both CP decline in giving and GCR, that can be instrumental in strengthening the CP and its effectiveness in reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus. I am told that a plane needs both drag and lift to fly. I am hopeful the present conversations about a Great Commission Resurgence will help to ensure a renewed emphasis on the Cooperative Program as an essential means in helping to bring about this resurgence. It is my opinion to have a Great Commission Resurgence we will need to have a great Cooperative Program resurgence. Ultimately, the impact will be left to God.
Larry: Billy, I know you have been aware of a great deal of amazing transformations that God has brought about in people’s lives through the Cooperative Program. Could you share a few of your favorite stories?
Billy: Of course. Imagine with me that you are riding with me on I-65 and we pass and a big white school bus with bright blue lettering on the side that says, “Kentucky Changers.” Inside are twenty-five excited teens and their leaders headed to build a ramp for a lady named Mary who now needs much help to enter and exit her home because she is confined to a wheelchair. The ministry of these young people of Kentucky Changers turns this building project into a divine appointment by the grace of God. Mary begins to feel Christian love from this group who has traveled many miles not only to build an addition to her house, but to pray with her daily about all of her needs. After this project was finished, Mary wrote a letter that said, “The Kentucky Changers group came here and they were all wonderful. They talked, laughed and worked so very hard. They prayed with me and for me. They even sung some gospel songs for me. The kids were amazing and their team leaders were great too. I feel so very blest to have met such wonderful people. My house looks good now and I can get out easier to go to the doctors. Anyway, I just want to thank everyone and may God bless each and everyone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” A few weeks later, I received a video of Mary being baptized as a new believer in Christ because of the ministry of these young people supported by the Cooperative Program. Mary goes on to say, “My life has never been the same. God has changed my life. I thank God who he sent to me?” Mary's story is one of many life changing stories.
So many life-changing stories. A man who came from Nevada to work with a Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief team during a disaster felt the love and grace of Jesus Christ through his team members. He came to help the victims of the storm. He was prompted by the Holy Spirit while using a chain saw to clear debris from someone’s front lawn to accept Christ himself. After experiencing such a time, he declared, “I finally understood that God was speaking to me. I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. He says, “my salvation is a direct result of Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief and the Cooperative Program. Thank you for saving me.”
There are many more like these. God is working! Praise Him!
Billy, thank you for sharing with us.
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posted by: Larry Baker on August 5th, 2009
In last week’s post, we heard from Billy Compton as he shared his history as a Kentucky Southern Baptist. We were also informed of the major step the KBC took over three years ago to begin addressing the decline of Cooperative Program giving that culminated with Billy coming on board of the KBC staff as the Executive Associate for Cooperative Program and Resources. This week’s post will continue the interview.
Larry: Billy, how would you assess the health of the Cooperative Program today?
Billy: The Cooperative Program needs attention. But, I consider the glass half full rather than half empty. Just because a physical body may have ailments does not mean that we give up on the body or consider it insignificant. We look for remedies. This is true for the spiritual body also as we are challenged to experience renewal. And it is true for the Cooperative Program.
I have travelled over 20,000 miles and conducted 30 meetings since last year. My assessment is that the CP needs attention. That reminds us it is making an eternal difference for Christ 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year. It is a great investment. But, it needs attention. I have determined this intuitively, through numerous interviews, and looking at statistics related to the CP. We can back up to 1990 and determine that the Cooperative Program in Kentucky received 11% of all undesignated giving of the churches reporting. In 2008, CP giving had dropped to about 7%. That is a big gap. Yes, from the percentage support aspect, CP needs attention.
Larry: As you have shared, the Cooperative Program needs attention, especially on the giving side. Is the CP worth saving?
Billy: Absolutely. As I take a look at just one aspect, the portion that goes to the Kentucky Baptist Convention, it is important to understand about 90% of what we do as the Kentucky Baptist Convention is funded by Cooperative Program gifts. And I would remind you the lost in Kentucky are just as lost as those in North America or other faraway places in the world.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus says that we are to take the Good News to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world. We are to take the Gospel to our home area, our nation and around the world. Acts 1:8 is not a pyramid approach or a step ladder approach to ministry and mission work. The Acts 1:8 challenge is a simultaneous approach.
The best way I know that Acts 1:8 can become a reality in any size church is through the Cooperative Program. Two churches I pastored demonstrate the opportunities provided by the CP as faithful contributors to the CP. Severns Valley Baptist Church will soon reach the $10,000,000.00 mark in total CP giving. The Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Uno recently reached the mark of giving $1,000.00 a month to the CP. I am excited about the level of giving of both churches. They are both making a positive impact on carrying out the Great Commission. They are pro ud of what, united with other Kentucky Baptist churches, they are able to accomplish and the way they are reaching the world for Christ. They are grateful for training events and investments the KBC makes in assisting churches throughout Kentucky to be more effective. As they observe the impact of KBC ministries to churches, Campbellsville and the Cumberland Universities, Oneida and the other KBC-related institutions and agencies, they know they are part of those efforts due to the CP.
When they note the 5,400 NAMB missionaries and the 5,000 plus international missionaries, the church planting around the world and in North America, the reaching of people groups in the United States---and I could go on and on---all are m ade possible by the Cooperative Program. Both churches along with a vast host of Southern Baptist churches in Kentucky, are all significant contributors to this cooperative effort that continues to achieve amazing results.
I think of personal friends like IMB missionaries Ken and Beth Perkins and missionaries Rich and Susan Hutchinson who are laying their lives on the line for the cause of Christ everyday. These missionaries and thousands just like them are exactly why I affirm the CP. It is worth renewing our awareness of its effective and efficient means of doing the Great Commission. It’s our responsibility to support these missionaries and those like them in North America and around the world.
I do not wish to belittle the independent efforts of others in carrying out Acts 1:8. But, I strongly believe that to make the most difference for the Kingdom of God requires a strong Cooperative Program partnership. Many of our churches can do both, as Dan Summerlin at Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah is demonstrating through strong support of the CP and personalizing Acts 1:8 missions that go above and beyond the CP.
Partnership is key. No large church can do it alone. No small church can do it by itself. We need each other. And the CP is an instrument that God has given Southern Baptists that has made our partnership of churches lead the world in the sending of missionaries.
Certainly CP needs attention. But, it continues be a mighty force in reaching out to the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we give the right consideration to supporting CP, it will continue to be used by God as a great force for His Kingdom throughout our world.
Next week in Part III of this interview, Billy will discuss his strategy and how he sees the future of the CP. He will also share some of his favorite stories about individuals impacted by the CP.
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posted by: Larry Baker on July 15th, 2009
This post will begin a two or three part interview with Dr. Billy Compton, Kentucky Baptist Convention Executive Associate for Cooperative Program and Resources.
Larry: Billy, Please share with our readers a brief history of your pre-KBC ministry.
Billy: I started pastoring when I was a senior at Hart Memorial High School in Hardyville, KY. I pastored two half-time churches: the Hardyville Union Church and the Antioch Baptist Church. After graduating, I attended Campbellsville University. During those years, I was called to pastor the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Uno, a full-time rural church that ran about 75-100 in worship and in Sunday School. While a student at Southern Seminary, I served the Calvary Baptist Church in Glasgow. After graduating, I became the pastor of the Living Hope Baptist Church in Bowling Green. While serving as pastor at Living Hope, we were involved in planting two churches with the Warren Association helping provide land for the second plant. It was during this time I met Bill Jaggers who was serving as the Director of Church Planting for the KBC. We quickly became friends through our passion for evangelism and missions. Consequently, he invited me to serve on the KBC staff as an Evangelism Associate. I served in that capacity for three years before becoming pastor of First Baptist Church, Mt. Washington, It was during my time at Mt. Washington that I was elected President of the KBC in 1995. In 1996, I was called to become senior pastor of Severns Valley Baptist church in Elizabethtown. I served until January 1, 2008 and provided leadership for the relocation to their new campus. I share all this to let you know of the investment I have been privileged to make through KBC churches and the Kentucky Baptist Convention. Also, I hope this illustrates how the Cooperative Program has made a tremendous impact on me through the churches I served, graduating from KBC-supported Campbellsville University and SBC-supported Southern Seminary and being on the staff of the KBC. Later, when I completed my Doctor of Ministry Degree from Fuller and noted the financial investment compared to the cost at Southern, I became even more appreciative of Cooperative Program support in my life.
Larry: Billy, prior to coming to the KBC as Executive Associate for Cooperative Program and Resources, you were serving one of the most historic and exciting churches in the KBC. You had moved the church to a new campus and the church was poised to continue growth at an accelerated rate and prepared for the anticipated future large growth related to Ft. Knox. What were you thinking?
Billy: Well, it was a God thing. First, I was uniquely prepared for such an assignment based on my ministry experiences. I also had a great passion for the Cooperative Program having witnessed how it had impacted my life during the years of my ministry and how it has literally impacted the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Several years ago, I was asked to chair a KBC Mission Board Committee to study the Cooperative Program in Kentucky. Signs and trends were already appearing that the percentage of giving to CP was trending down. The committee was charged with seeking ways to make CP healthier in Kentucky and to focus on the great ministry and mission causes supported by CP gifts.
One of our key findings was to recommend the establishment of a KBC position to help in leading our state in CP understanding and giving. When Georgetown College was removed from CP funding by mutual agreement of the College and the KBC, it was decided that some of these previously designated funds would be used to finance this new position. It was then that Dr. Bill Mackey, the Executive Director of the KBC, approached me about assuming the position. His conversations with me pointed to my lifelong commitment to the local church, my passion for CP, and my understanding of KBC and SBC polity and function. Obviously, this was a difficult decision for me.
Even though I was sensing God’s will that I should respond to this calling, I needed additional consent from Him. Two facts served as that affirmation: First, Severns Valley Baptist Church, despite the major move to its new site, was in good financial condition; secondly, Severns Valley Baptist Church was able to sell their former campus. Sue Ann and I both understood these facts as being approval of being called to this new position at the KBC and we felt released to serve in this position. Later confirmation came for me when Severns Valley Baptist Church called their new pastor, Bill Langley, with 100% of the vote and the baptism and other Acts 1:8 goals we established were all exceeded.
Next week: Part II Billy Compton interview
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posted by: Larry Baker on July 8th, 2009
Excitement is building across the state for the “Find it Here” sowing process. Each month as I receive reports from DOMs and read Associational Newsletters, I have learned about the promotion and plans being conducted in the vast majority of Associations across Kentucky in preparation for the “Find it Here” campaign.
Several of our KBC staff have had the privilege and will have the privilege of sharing with associations, pastors and laymen across Kentucky with an overview or a specific conference related to “Find it Here”.
A few examples: Eric Allen conducted overviews, conferences on prayer walking and compassionate ministries in the following Associations: Bracken, Long Run (churches), Taylor County, Casey and Blood River. He is scheduled to share at Logan/Todd, Liberty, Warren, Daviess—McLean, Lincoln, West Kentucky, Severns Valley, Blackford, Breckinridge and Little Bethel in the next couple of months.
I have had the privilege of sharing in Severns Valley, Green Valley, Bracken, Tates Creek, Booneville, Knox, Shelby (church), Laurel River, Owen, Ten Mile and Salem. I am scheduled to share in Ohio Valley, Logan/Todd, Irvine, Muhlenberg and Lynn.
In addition, Randy Jones is scheduled to share at Shelby Association and Ross Bauscher has shared in Lincoln, Freedom and Wayne and has 8-10 meetings scheduled in associations this fall. Our KBC Regional Church Development Strategists have had numerous opportunities to share about “Find it Here”.
In every location that we have been, excitement has been exhibited by pastors, DOMs, and lay people about “Find it Here”. In many cases, leadership has shared that they had already been looking to do something like this before discovering the “Find it Here” process. That is a strong affirmation that we are on the right track and that God is in the process.
Reports are coming in that churches are being strategic about preparing for “Find it Here” planning and conducting witnessing training, prayer walking training, intentional and intense praying for lost people by name, and examining assimilation, follow-up and small group usage in their churches. Significant plans are being made by associations and churches to participate in local media coverage for the “Find it Here” sowing process. As of today, 54 Associations have been approved for financial grants from the KBC for local publicity of “Find it Here”. In addition, NAMB will be unveiling their national campaign to key state leadership at a late August meeting and the KBC is working to supplement coverage in Kentucky.
May God bless all we do with “Find it Here”. And may many people far from God be brought into His Kingdom through this process and many believers grow in their discipleship as a by-product of this activity.
If you need more information about “Find it Here” go to the KBC website www.kybaptist.org and click on “Find it Here”.
Next week, I will continue my series on the Cooperative Program with Part I of an interview with Dr. Billy Compton, Executive Associate for Cooperative Program and Resources of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
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posted by: Larry Baker on July 3rd, 2009
I will make a brief interlude from my series of blog posts on the Cooperative Program to share some thoughts about Crossover Louisville and the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. First, Crossover Louisville. What a great success! Hundreds of volunteers from around the US came and were joined by Long Run Baptist Association church volunteers to make a huge spiritual impact on Louisville and the surrounding area.
There were so many great things that took place during Crossover, that it would be impossible to write about them all in the space allocated for this post. Let me highlight a few events and activities: Hispanic outreach-The 9 Hispanic Southern Baptist churches were heavily involved in the Crossover event. Members of these churches worked alongside volunteers from throughout Kentucky and the US in many evangelistic endeavors including block parties, concerts, evangelistic services and one-on-one evangelism. The Crossover events ended with a huge Hispanic Festival in Iroqouis Park which recorded 1025 registrants and an attendance estimated to be around 1500. 115 professions of faith were registerd at the Festival and there were 318 Hispanic professions of faith recorded during the weeks activities. The 9 Hispanic churches have already begun follow-up and discipleship processes. Please be in prayer for them as they disciple these new believers and work with the residual harvest that will come from the Crossover efforts. I am grateful for Carlos de la Barra, KBC Ethnic Associate and Joshua del Risco from NAMB for their great leadership during the Crossover Hispanic efforts.
Street Evangelism: Many Long Run Baptist Association church members and volunteers from around the US worked in ICE Teams that were involved in engaging the lost with a gospel witness. These volunteers included students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. On Thursday of last week, several of the KBC staff (Eric Allen, Ross Bauscher, Scott Pitman, Ross Bauscher and me) joined the ICE Teams, heard some amazing testimonies about people who had made decisions the previous day, then went out to witness with the teams. We had various experiences but I want to share a couple.
One team met a guy outside a grocery store. He was witnessed to and made a profession of faith. As they were following up he told the group that he had actually been on the way to the grocery to steal a package of diapers for his baby. He knew he could not do that now. The group purchased those diapers for him before he returned home. A second team sought refuge in another grocery store due to a horrendous thunderstorm. One of the members witnessed to an employee who prayed to receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Another employee, who is a bi-vocational pastor, shared that he had been witnessing to this young man for a long period of time. He was so thrilled to know his friend had been saved. Encounters like these two were repeated over and over during Crossover. Somewhere between 1,025 and 1,035 professions of faith were recorded during Crossover. Please pray for the Louisville Baptist churches as they do follow-up with these new believers and pray for the new believers as they begin their walk with Jesus.
The Convention: There were many high points during the convention. Excellent preaching, excellent reports, business conducted mostly with a Christ-like spirit and a strong emphasis on the Great Commission. During the IMB and NAMB reports, I sensed that I needed to go to one of those desparate places around the world and around North America where Jesus needs to be preached. But then God reminded me that somewhere between 75-80 percent of Kentuck y is lost and I am in a position that can change that. I prayed for wisdom and strength to reach the lost in Kentucky and to support our missionaries all around the world. I pray you will join me in reaching people far from God with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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posted by: Larry Baker on June 25th, 2009
