The Open Door

“How can I get more money to the International Mission Board to support the taking of the Gospel to the nations?”

I’m glad you asked. Every year at this time we focus upon the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. This year’s theme is “Who’s Missing? Whose Mission?” The national goal for the offering is $175 million. The clarion call of the International Mission Board is that Southern Baptists “Give to reach those still missing from God’s family.”

The Week of Prayer for International Missions is officially November 29 through December 6, 2009, however, that is not a required date. Your church can have your Week of Prayer any time of your choosing.

The mission study this year focuses upon the Berbers of North Africa. I encourage your congregation to have a Week of Prayer for International Missions and give your people the challenge to do more than ever before for the Lottie Moon Offering.

The Week of Prayer involves more than a mission study. It is all about praying for our missionaries. We know that God hears and answers the prayers of His people and it is absolutely imperative that we pray for our missionaries. I can assure you from my encounters with them on their various fields of service that they feel the power of prayer in their ministries. They consistently tell me how much they appreciate your prayers and ask me to convey their gratitude upon my return to Georgia.

Since Dr. Rankin announced that funds received from Southern Baptists have been insufficient to send all the missionaries who have surrendered and prepared to go, there has been considerable discussion about how we can get more resources to send and support our missionaries. Some of those discussions have centered upon the question, “Who can we take resources from in order to send more money to the International Mission Board?” Actually, that is the wrong question.

The key to greater support for international missions is in giving more resources. Every single one of us needs to make a renewed commitment to give more than we have ever given before to support those missionaries who are prepared to go. I am told that we need 8,000 international missionaries, rather than the 5,500 that we now have to reach all of the unreached people groups in the world today. The only thing holding us back from having 8,000 missionaries is the amount of money available to the International Mission Board.

Since 100% of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions goes to IMB, I suggest that the Lottie Moon Offering would be an excellent vehicle for getting more resources to the IMB. Pastors, I cannot urge you enough to challenge your congregations to give more than ever before to support international missions through this year’s offering by giving the largest amount in the history of your church.

I am convinced that Southern Baptist missionaries are the finest anywhere in the world today. Many of them are living in hazardous conditions and surroundings for the sake of the preaching and teaching of the Gospel of Christ. How can we do less than provide for them all of the support they need to fulfill their calling?

The questions posed in this year’s theme are intriguing.

“Who’s missing?” Many are missing from God’s family because they have rejected the Gospel. Others are among the 1.8 billion who are missing because they have never heard.

“Whose mission?” It should be the mission of every believer in the world today to accept the responsibility of getting the Gospel of Christ to the lost, wherever they are among the world. Certainly, as Southern Baptists, we have ample resources among our members to accomplish the task.

First, however, we have to answer the question “Whose mission?” correctly. What is the correct answer? Here it is: It’s my mission; it’s our mission! Through the power of God and the willingness among us to give of our resources, we can reach the remaining people in the world who have never even heard the name “Jesus.”

Some have given their lives to reach them. What will you give to reach them?