$17,500: An Ambitious, Worthy, and Attainable Goal

For 175 years Southern Baptists have sent missionaries to the ends of the earth to take the good news of King Jesus.

David and Maxine King served through war in Lebanon—car bombs, mortar bombs, airplane bombs—to teach at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

Forced to stay at home during the Tai Ping Rebellion in China, Matthew Yates wrote a Chinese-English dictionary that helped future missionaries learn Chinese so that they could preach Christ in the local language.

When Jeff and Barbara Singerman arrived in Benin, in Sub-Saharan Africa, they knew of 30 Baptist churches. When they left, there were over 350!

You can find these stories and more at the IMB’s website dedicated to the 175^th Anniversary.

But the story is not over.

Southern Baptists churches are not content only with a faithful past, but are looking forward to a fruitful future. We are committed to taking the Gospel to unreached peoples and places until the whole world is filled with the knowledge of the glory of God (Hab 2:14).

Each December, Mountain Creek gives toward the largest missions offering in the world: the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. One hundred percent of this offering goes to overseas ministry to peoples and places with little access to the Gospel.

An Ambitious Goal

In honor of the IMB’s 175^th anniversary, we have set our LMCO goal at $17,500. This would be our largest missions offering in many years.

It’s an ambitious goal, especially during this particular year.

But it is a worthy goal. And it is a goal that is well within our reach.

A Worthy Goal

I remember one of our first Christmases in Turkey. Our apartment was festive. The tree was decorated. We played carols, ate Christmas cookies, exchanged gifts, and celebrated the birth of our Savior.

But I looked out our window. Neighbors got on the bus on their way to work.

It was just another Tuesday.

Christmas, in a manner of speaking, had not yet come to Turkey.

The same is true for nearly three billion people on this planet. It’s always winter and never Christmas, for they have not yet heard about the boy named Jesus who would save his people from their sins.

We give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering because we are not okay with the fact that half of the world’s population does not know the truth about who Jesus is. It bothers us that a billion people could walk for days and weeks in any direction and not come across a Christian, a church, or a Bible. We are disturbed that 154,937 people will die today—just today!—without Christ.

We give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering because we can do something about it.

Lottie Moon dollars:

• Send missionaries
• Pay language school tuitions
• Translate and print Bibles in minority languages
• Purchase social media advertisements
• Provide excellent medical care to missionary families
• And a whole lot more.

Christ our King is worthy of the praise of every person. That means he is worthy of our sacrificial generosity to get the Gospel to all peoples.

$17,500 is a worthy goal.

Within Reach

It is also an attainable goal.

Last year, we gave over and above our LMCO goal by $4,000, collecting $14,000. That was on top of over $10,000 given through fundraisers to a short-term trip. Due to Covid-19 we were not able to take any short-term trips this year, meaning that even if our total missions giving for 2020 takes a hit, we could still reach our LMCO goal of $17,500.

But that’s just math.

We are more interested in hearts and loves.

This ambitious goal is attainable because Mountain Creek has a heart for missions. We love Christ and His glory, we love people and their souls, and we make it our ambition to preach Christ where he has not been named (Rom 15:20).

Pray. And Give.

Therefore, pray about what you will give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering this year. Pray for our church, that we would be sacrificial and generous.

And on December 13^th, come prepared to give to the great cause of God’s glory among the nations.