Mission Support / Cooperative Giving

Mission support (also called cooperative giving, missions giving, or Great Commission giving, depending on the denomination) is the money a church sends beyond its walls to fund mission work — both domestic and international. This can flow through denominational channels (like the Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program or the PCUSA's mission agency), through independent mission organizations (like Wycliffe, Compassion International, or Cru), or directly to missionaries the church supports individually.

Cooperative giving models pool resources from many churches to fund mission work that no single congregation could sustain alone. The Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program is one of the largest — churches give a percentage of their undesignated receipts to the state convention, which forwards a portion to the national convention for seminaries, missionaries, and church planting. In 2025, SBC churches gave over $500 million through the Cooperative Program.

Many churches use a mixed approach: a percentage of the budget goes to denominational missions through cooperative channels, another portion supports individual missionaries the church has relationships with, and a third pool funds short-term mission trips by church members. The total missions line typically ranges from 5-20% of a church's operating budget, depending on the church's mission emphasis and financial health.

Mission support is where a church's stated values meet its actual spending. A church that says missions is a priority but allocates only 3% of its budget tells a different story than one giving 15%. For financial planning, mission commitments need to be stable and predictable — missionaries and mission organizations depend on consistent support. Cutting missions first when the budget is tight can damage long-term relationships and the church's reputation. Churches should treat mission commitments with the same seriousness as staff salaries — they're obligations to real people and organizations doing essential work. Clear tracking and reporting of how mission dollars are used builds congregational buy-in and often increases giving.