Feature image courtesy of Chris Forbes.
As Southern Baptists reflect on one hundred years of the Cooperative Program, a new book is joining the conversation with a challenge to look forward, not only backward.
“The Next Era of the Cooperative Program” by Chris Forbes, DMin., is strategically timed for the Cooperative Program Centennial year and offers a foresight-informed roadmap for the future of cooperative missions funding. Drawing on the insights of the Future Commission 2050 Project, the book presents seven long-range drivers of change, four plausible scenarios for Cooperative Program engagement through 2050, and a preferred future vision titled The Next Era of the Cooperative Program.
The research behind the book was initially conducted as part of Forbes’s Doctor of Ministry project at Southwestern Seminary. It included a national survey of Southern Baptist pastors, three strategic foresight labs with denominational leaders, and weeks of structured horizon scanning.
“Southern Baptists are facing a generational transition. The Cooperative Program was visionary in 1925. In 2025, it must be reimagined to serve a new century of churches, leaders, and global mission priorities.”
The book has received encouraging early feedback from Southern Baptist leaders. Tony Wolfe, Executive Director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, described it as “a strategic look into the future of SBC Cooperative Program engagement.” David S. Dockery, President of Southwestern Seminary, called the book “a timely and thoughtful contribution that offers an engaging and winsome path forward.”
Forbes has also published a free strategic brief for ministry teams, state leaders, and SBC executives to accompany the release. The brief summarizes key insights from the project and encourages reflection and planning for the next chapter of the Cooperative Program strategy.
The book and the brief reflect foresight tools developed through Incite Futures Labs, a futures literacy process created by Forbes Nonprofit Strategies designed to help churches and denominational teams engage in foresight-based strategic planning and leadership development.
