Cooperative Program Task Force to distribute church giving survey

An executive-director-appointed task force assigned to study Cooperative Program giving trends among Texas Baptists churches, will send out a survey in the coming days.

Texas Baptists churches can soon expect to receive an email from the Cooperative Program Task Force to the primary pastor or church email address on file with the Convention’s Information Management Team (IMT). 

The email will include a survey link and brief message from Task Force chair and Executive Board vice chair Keith Warren. Warren serves as executive pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Weatherford.

English and Spanish language versions of the invitation email and survey will be made available to each recipient.

Warren and task force pursue ‘meaningful insights’

“I’m grateful for the work our task force has done over the past few months,” said Warren. “We’ve had many thoughtful conversations, asked some important questions, and worked hard to develop a survey that stays true to the assignment we’ve been given. We’re looking forward to hearing candidly from as many Texas Baptist churches as possible.”

Warren noted the trends being studied by the task force were the result of complex factors.

“There’s no question that Cooperative Program giving among Texas Baptists has demonstrated remarkable resilience over the years; that’s something worth celebrating. At the same time, we can’t ignore the reality that years of steady decline have cumulatively affected our ability to do ministry together,” Warren said. “These trends didn’t develop overnight, and we shouldn’t expect simple answers. But I believe there is value in looking beyond the trends to understand why we’re experiencing this pattern.”

He also stressed the importance of listening to Texas Baptists churches throughout the process.

“I’m encouraged by the spirit in which our team has approached this work,” Warren said. “We certainly don’t presume to have all the answers, but we believe listening carefully to our churches is the most important place to start.”

“My hope is that this process will give us some meaningful insights and help us think deeply about how we can strengthen our cooperative work for the years ahead,” said Warren.

Directed to carry out ‘comprehensive study’ of giving

The Executive Board recommendation approved by members of the board in February directed the task force to “conduct a comprehensive study of Cooperative Program giving in Texas.” That study was to include CP promotion, fund allocation, underlying rationales for church participation and factors contributing to decline.

The Task Force is also to propose “potential solutions” to “establish a positive trajectory” for future CP giving in Texas.

Texas Baptists Cooperative Program receipts through September were at 97.9% of the previous year’s giving. 

Appointed members and key meetings

Texas Baptists Executive Director Julio Guarneri made mention of the task force in his November 2025 address at the Texas Baptists Annual meeting in Abilene, and invited a diverse group of pastors, church leaders, church members and ministry staff to serve leading up to February’s Board meeting.

Task Force members approved by the Executive Board include: Keith Warren, chair, Northside BC, Weatherford; Delvin Atchison, Westside Baptist Church, Lewisville; Victor Castillo, Rio Grande Bible Church, McAllen; Maria Bridwell, Calvary BC, McAllen; Dillard Fisher, Cross Bearers Church, Copperas Cove; Tim Eng, Chinese Baptists Church, Houston; Michael Gossett, Green Acres Baptist Church, Tyler; Del Lopez, Hispana Baptist Church, Lubbock; Pete Pawelek, Cowboy Fellowship of Atascosa County, Jourdanton; and Debbie Potter, convention president, Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio. 

Staff liaisons to the Task Force include: Ward Hayes, CFO; Joshua Minatrea, senior director of Resource Development; and Jeff Donnell, director of Cooperative Program.

Since its creation, members of the group have exchanged emails and calls, met virtually, and met in person or in a hybrid format on two occasions, in Salado, in June, and in Dallas, immediately following the September Executive Board meeting. Warren, on behalf of the task force, provided a brief update to the board during that meeting.

Survey languages, length and other specifics

The task force’s survey includes five demographic questions about the survey respondent and his or her church, and 10 questions related to the church’s views on Cooperative Program giving. Of the 15 total questions, a dozen are multiple choice and three are open-ended.

Warren noted that the survey is designed to take under 10 minutes for ministers to complete, but also adds sufficient opportunities for respondents to take more time to share as much as they wish with task force members.

“At the end of the day, we cannot act on what we do not know with certainty,” said Warren. “Almost everyone has an opinion on what has caused the decline in CP giving. We’ve heard many anecdotal stories here and there, but these opinions and anecdotes can’t drive decision-making. For that, we need data.”

In addition to open-ended questions, survey respondents also have the option to indicate that they would like to receive an invitation to participate in a virtual focus group with the Task Force members.

“My prayer, and the collective prayer of our Task Force,” Warren continued, “is that this survey receives the highest rate of submissions Texas Baptists has ever seen. Every voice will help shape our understanding of a very complex issue. With candid, thorough feedback, our team can develop recommendations that will direct our future ministries in important ways.”

Survey data will remain strictly confidential. While IMT will verify each respondent is connected to an affiliated church, the team will not store responses in its system and will provide an anonymized report to the task force. Only one response from each affiliated church will be collected.

Once information from the survey data is compiled by IMT, the task force will conduct a thorough analysis and present findings and related recommendations to the Executive Board.

Initial plans are for the survey to remain open for approximately two to three weeks, depending on initial response rates. Multiple reminder emails will be sent to those who do not respond. If a church does not receive a survey invitation in the next few days, they are encouraged to contact IMT at IMT[at]texasbaptists.org and, upon verification, will be sent a link to participate in the survey.

“We hope that every Texas Baptist pastor will take the time to share their insights and experiences with us,” Warren said. “We want to hear directly from you.”