In a recent letter published in The Religious Herald, Dr. John Upton, Executive Director of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board of the Baptist General Assembly of Virginia (BGAV) wrote:
"Dear BGA of Virginia Church:
As a member of the BGAV, you have chosen to join more than 1400 other churches who are working together to take the message and ministry of Jesus to the ends of the earth through Cooperative Missions (Virginia Baptist’s long-standing commitment to the Cooperative Program.) Together we are doing more…more disaster relief, more evangelizing and church planting, more to support ministers and churches, more to reach children and youth for Christ."
Perhaps you saw the blue "Together We Can Do More" poster in the September 20 edition of The Religious Herald. (One is hanging on the stairway bulletin board) If not, here are some of the highlights:
"You give your tithes and offerings to your church…..Your church gives a portion of the tithes and offerings it receives to Cooperative Missions….As directed by your church, the BGAV uses Cooperative Missions gifts to support missions and ministries in Virginia, throughout the United States, and around the world in partnership with SBC, CBF, BWA and others.
The Cooperative Missions portion of your church’s budget enables your church to be a part of ministries beyond your own walls and community. It is a way for churches to support all their mission causes with one gift because your Cooperative Missions dollars are shared by State, National, and International ministries.
Each church decides how much they will send to Cooperative Missions and directs the BGAV how to distribute the World Missions portion of their gifts by choosing one of the Cooperative Missions Giving Plans (WM1, WM2, WM3) or by adopting their own customized plan."
When you place your special gift in the offering envelope this December, do you wonder where it all goes?
Here’s what you support in Virginia Missions and Ministries with your gift:
WHBC then allows you to choose how you would like to distribute the World Missions portion of your gifts by choosing one of the Cooperative Missions Giving Plans (WM1, WM2, or WM3).
The Cooperative Missions WM1 giving plan supports missions and ministries of the Southern Baptist Convention. These are: the SBC (www.sbc.net), Ethics & Religious Liberty Commissions; GuideStone Financial Resource of the SBC; International Mission Board; NorthAmerican Mission Board; Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives and the SBC Seminaries: Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary; Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The Cooperative Missions WM2 giving plan supports the following missions and ministries: SBC missions and ministries (listed above) and Virginia Baptist Mission Initiatives: Impact Northeast; Virginia Baptists’ partnership with the Baptist conventions of: District of Columbia; Maryland/Delaware; Mississippi; North Carolina; New England; New York; Pennsylvania/South Jersey; Tennessee, and Texas to reach the 25% of the U.S. population who live in the Northeast; the Kingdom Advance New Mission Initiatives (such as Arabic/Muslim ministries, Latino/Hispanic ministries, and partnerships with the European Baptist Federation and the Amity Foundation in China); Missions Development; Mission Relief; Romany People of Southern Europe (Project Ruth); Ministerial Scholarship Fund (for ministerial students at the college and seminary levels); National & International Mission Partners: Associated Baptist Press; Baptist Center for Ethics; Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond; Baptist World Alliance; Ministering to Ministers Foundation, Inc.
The Cooperative Missions WM3 giving plan supports missions and ministries of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, CBF. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Offering for Global Missions Theme for 2007 is "Embrace The World". They ask that you do the following:
100% of the gifts to the CBF Offering for Global Missions support global ministries. The Offering is the primary funding mechanism for CBF Global Missions, providing for field personnel salaries and benefits, ministry and operating expenses. Learn more at www.thefellowshipo.info/involved/give.
The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is part of the SBC global missions offering. Our WMU Leadership sets the offering goal for WHBC each year. With the 2007 national theme "Tell Me! (The story of Jesus)", the emphasis is on the former Soviet Union.
Charlotte "Lottie" Moon was born in 1840 to Virginia Baptist aristocracy. She was very strong-willed and throughout her college years she was openly critical of the Gospel. She was in Cartersville, Georgia when she accepted God’s call to a mission’s lifestyle where she bought clothing for the poor with her own money. She began her evangelism work in Tengchow, China in 1873; her most successful ministry was in P’ingtu. Lottie died on her way home on the ship, Manchuria, making her ultimate sacrifice for God. You see, she died from malnutrition; she starved to death. There was a famine in her last years in China and she gave all of her food and small salary away. Only 4’9", Miss Moon left behind a steamer trunk, in which was found one change of clothes. It seems she had given them all away, too. Her letters home, pleading for support, are the foundation on this offering to support global missionaries. All gifts given go directly to missionaries’ support.
You are encouraged to participate in the December / Christmas special offerings for international missions. An envelope will be available in the pew racks and on the tables in the foyers of the church. Please check the appropriate box for where you wish your offering to be sent.
We give so others may hear the story of Jesus. We give so others can stand in the gap on the field of evangelism. We give because the Lord asked us to share the Good News.
The Missions Council is coordinating WHBC mission ministry calendars for the remainder of 2007 in an effort to ensure that in-gathering projects do not overlap or result in duplication of effort during the same periods of time. Another goal is to assist WHBC in providing an intentional mission ministry focus which contains the element of evangelism in everything we choose to do as a congregation.
If you are working on or planning a mission ministry project that involves WHBC congregational resources (non-budgeted) we would ask that you contact one of us for calendar coordination.
Listed below are Council members you may contact for your particular area of ministry:
Giving a cup of cold water is just a shared experience until it is given personally in the name of the Lord, with the message of love, hope, and redemption.Summer Missions update from Brittany and Mattie