South Tulsa Baptist Church in Oklahoma Thinks Globally at Home

Students in the ESL program of South Tulsa Baptist Church gather for a Christmas luncheon. The church offers 54 hours of ESL training each week in three locations.

TULSA, Okla. (BP) – South Tulsa Baptist Church paid off its $2.2 million dollar debt in 18 months so it could focus on missions.

“I felt it was really important to start off on the right foot,” Eric Costanzo told Baptist Press. He’s been South Tulsa Baptist’s pastor since 2016. It’s his first senior pastorate. He started the debt-payoff thrust within his first six months.

“The debt service was costing us a lot,” Costanzo said. “So much ministry funding has come from paying off the debt and not having to pay the bank every month.”

The church’s outreach includes at least a dozen local ministries and just as many international ones. Missions absorbs about 36 percent of total giving, starting with the Cooperative Program (CP), the way Southern Baptists work together in worldwide missions and ministries.

“We’ve been giving more than 11 percent (through CP) for several years,” Costanzo said. “It’s a longtime commitment for this church and for me. As Southern Baptists, the Cooperative Program is at the heart of what we do to accomplish kingdom work, instead of everybody doing their own thing.

“We don’t always see where all those dollars end up but we trust if we’re faithful in giving the money and resources, they will go to places we’re not able to go. I want to say to fellow pastors: Commit to the Cooperative Program. If you’re going to be Southern Baptist, commit to CP. If every pastor did, just imagine what that would do for the IMB and church planting.”

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Source: Baptist Press