Mt. Zion Baptist embraces role of being a giving church

KUTTAWA, Ky. (KT) -- Generosity in giving to missions is engrained in the culture of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, which historically is one of the top per capita Cooperative Program giving churches in the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

Not only is the church a strong CP partner, but it also is the largest financial contributor to the Caldwell-Lyon Baptist Association, which includes 38 churches.

This past summer the church had a member, Mary Beth Davis, go on a mission trip to Uganda. The association awarded her a $1,000 scholarship because it was an overseas mission trip, and Mt. Zion took up a love offering of more than $2,000 to help offset her expenses. "To me it is phenomenal the way the church gives and helps people," said Mike Boyd, who has pastored Mt. Zion since January 2019.

Last week the church's generosity extended to help people impacted by two recent hurricanes. "It came up Wednesday night," Boyd said. "People thought we needed to do something -- everybody is heartbroken over what has happened to those people who are going through (hurricanes) Helene and Milton. I said we didn't need to reinvent the wheel -- that there was a system in place with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and its Disaster Relief ministry." He added that going through KBC would ensure that "the money would be going where it needed to go to help people."

At that point, a motion was made for the church to give $10,000 to help with the relief efforts, and

a unanimous vote to give that amount followed. Half that money will be designated for gift cards for people on the ground to distribute, and the other half to fund disaster relief efforts.

Boyd noted that Mt. Zion, which averages about 90 people in worship on Sunday mornings, has a congregation "of ordinary folks -- not people with millions of dollars." The church typically ranks in the top 50 among KBC churches in per capita CP giving.

"Since I have been here, I have never felt the need from the Lord to preach a message on tithing," Boyd said. "All our financial needs have been met. There were times during COVID that I talked to a lot of people whose churches struggled with attendance and paying bills. But we didn't -- we had outside services, and it appears to me that God has continued to bless Mt. Zion financially." He referenced Malachi 3 when God told the Israelites to test Him by their giving and saying, "See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure."

From Boyd's viewpoint, the truth of that Scripture has been borne out at Mt. Zion