Lottie Moon past and present
This year marks 125 years of annual giving to support international missions.
The 2013 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
®
goal is $175 million, the same as in 2012 and 2011. In 2012, Southern Baptists
gave $149.3 million to the offering. It surpassed the previous year’s offering
of $146.8 million by more than $2.4 million and marked the third-highest amount
given in the offering’s history. Despite the difficult economy, we can rejoice
in how God has blessed Southern Baptists’ sacrificial giving. However, to make
disciples of all peoples in fulfillment of the Great Commission, Southern
Baptists must submit to being totally His, individually, as a church and as a
convention.
Small gifts; big impact!
Helping to reach a $175 million goal can be daunting if you’re struggling to
make ends meet. But God smiles upon every gift given from a joyful heart, no
matter the amount. Every penny given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
® is used to help support nearly 5,000 Southern
Baptist missionaries and their ministries as they share the Gospel overseas.
The offering makes up 54 percent of the IMB’s income. Last year, your
missionaries reported baptizing 266,451 new believers and starting 24,073 new
churches. Thus, your gifts had an eternal impact on the lives of these new
believers by helping to bring them to Christ.
What is the average cost to support an individual missionary?
• $51,000 a year (average)
• $4,250 a month
• $981 a week
• $140 a day
Your church can use these figures to set goals for giving. Could your
church, by faith, commit to supporting one missionary for a week, month or even
a year?
(Reported May 2013. Support includes housing,
salary, children’s education, medical expenses, retirement and more.)
