Please let everyone know that through the month of December we will be collecting our annual Christmas Missions Offering for the International Mission Board, the organization we support that facilitates the work of over 5,000 missionaries around the globe! Their main purpose is to reach those who have never heard, engaging unreached people groups around the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every penny given to this offering will be used to support Southern Baptist missionaries as they share the Gospel overseas. This one-time offering represents over 50 percent of the International Mission Board’s total income.
One such missionary that is supported by this offering is Pete Thoni, who is currently serving a two-year term in South Asia. Pete gave his life to Jesus through the TSC student ministry, surrendered to ministry here at TSC, and is now working to reach unreached people groups in South Asia with the love of Jesus Christ. This annual Christmas offering is what supports Pete’s ministry. Another missionary family that is supported is my sister’s family, who have been serving among an unreached people group in Southeast Asia for over a year and a half now. I watched my sister, her husband, and their two precious kids sell their home, give up everything they had, and move to the other side of the world with the clothes on their backs and three suitcases a piece. TSC will partner with them this next year on three mission trips, but it is also our financial giving that makes their ministry to the unreached possible.
It is IMB missionaries just like these all over the world today that started 24,650 brand new churches in 2009, and baptized over 500,000 new believers. That’s an average of 100 new believers per missionary! Sadly, in 2009, a net loss of 300 missionaries had to come home without being replaced because churches like ours did not help the International Mission Board reach its financial goals last year. For the first time in the history of this offering, there are now more missionaries waiting to go than there have been funds to send them.
This Christmas, what will you give so that our missionaries can stay in place to reach those who are missing out on knowing Jesus? It is our mission at Thompson Station Church to reach one more people group with the Gospel of Jesus through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. As many of us budget to buy gifts for friends and family this Christmas, what gift will you give that others may know the love of Jesus in 2010? May we learn to give to the world as God has so richly blessed us, as TSC gives outside of itself for this great cause, that one day all nations might come to know Him!
One such missionary that is supported by this offering is Pete Thoni, who is currently serving a two-year term in South Asia. Pete gave his life to Jesus through the TSC student ministry, surrendered to ministry here at TSC, and is now working to reach unreached people groups in South Asia with the love of Jesus Christ. This annual Christmas offering is what supports Pete’s ministry. Another missionary family that is supported is my sister’s family, who have been serving among an unreached people group in Southeast Asia for over a year and a half now. I watched my sister, her husband, and their two precious kids sell their home, give up everything they had, and move to the other side of the world with the clothes on their backs and three suitcases a piece. TSC will partner with them this next year on three mission trips, but it is also our financial giving that makes their ministry to the unreached possible.
It is IMB missionaries just like these all over the world today that started 24,650 brand new churches in 2009, and baptized over 500,000 new believers. That’s an average of 100 new believers per missionary! Sadly, in 2009, a net loss of 300 missionaries had to come home without being replaced because churches like ours did not help the International Mission Board reach its financial goals last year. For the first time in the history of this offering, there are now more missionaries waiting to go than there have been funds to send them.
This Christmas, what will you give so that our missionaries can stay in place to reach those who are missing out on knowing Jesus? It is our mission at Thompson Station Church to reach one more people group with the Gospel of Jesus through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. As many of us budget to buy gifts for friends and family this Christmas, what gift will you give that others may know the love of Jesus in 2010? May we learn to give to the world as God has so richly blessed us, as TSC gives outside of itself for this great cause, that one day all nations might come to know Him!
For more information about this worldwide missions organization and offering, go to: http://www.imb.org/
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