I’ve spent my life as part of teams — from playing sports in my younger days to coaching in my current “older” years. One of the things I love about a team is that it’s so much bigger than you. On the one hand, you sacrifice and play your role. But the end result is that you can accomplish so much more than you can alone. You work together.

That’s what the Cooperative Program is — an opportunity to work together to do far more than what any of us could do alone.

I’m not sure how many missionaries our church alone could support — maybe one. Or how many churches we could plant. I’m sure we wouldn’t be able to give seminary-level training to future pastors.

But together we combine with the other churches in Alabama and then many others across the globe to send thousands of missionaries into other countries and even into our own college campuses.

We support an amazing Children’s Homes ministry that fights to protect our most vulnerable. We train pastors and missionaries in our seminaries and train young Christians in many other fields at the University of Mobile. We help our fellow churches in all of their ministries with expert advice and support. We plant churches, go on mission trips and help in disaster relief. It’s amazing!

I’m doing all of that, because you and I and so many others are cooperating in this special program for Southern Baptists. So thank you for letting me be on this team to do something beyond my imagination or ability. Thank you for the Cooperative Program.

Jim Graham serves as a trustee for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. He is the pastor of Coosada Baptist Church in Elmore Baptist Association.