I wrote an article back in 2016, Before We Get Sidetracked, Let’s Celebrate Lottie Moon’s Big Year. The year was 2016 and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering reached $165 million and was up for the year by almost $13 million.
That was pretty impressive.
I referenced (on my old blog SBCPlodder) in that article Lottie Moon’s Phenomenal Year. That year was 2003 and the offering was over $136 million. What was astonishing about that year was that Lottie was up over $21 million from the previous year, an impressive 18 percent increase.
Those were the days of old when bold Southern Baptists gave great and increasing sums to our cooperative mission efforts. Those were the days prior to the great mortgage meltdown and the lamentable, incentivized retirement of over 1,100 IMB missionaries. The year 2003 had not seen the squalid mess that was NAMB then and for the next decade, the dysfunctional Midwestern Seminary at the time, the revelation of how unhealthy SWBTS was, the rise of the Traditionalists and the new takeover pirate group, and the revelation of scandal concerning clergy sex abuse.
Southern Baptists gave large sums to our flagship entity, IMB.
That was then and this is now. And now is a time when
The LMCO has already surpassed the $200 million mark and is up from the previous year by over $20 million
Well, hallelujah and amen! These are sad times in many ways for us but we may break out the SBC party stuff: our international effort is strong, stable, and growing.
Yes, yes. I can do the math. The current increase is not as large as that of 2003 by percentage and I haven’t calculated the numbers taking into account inflation.
Phooey on all that. Let’s have a party! Pop a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly grape juice.
As important as the dollar amounts is that Paul Chitwood, IMB leader reports that over 1,100 individuals are in the IMB pipeline, working towards overseas service. Just a few years ago that number was less than half that. God bless and lead all of those individuals in their exploration of and preparation towards service.
The SBC tire slashers are with us always. Ignore them. Give again this year. Push the LMCO towards a quarter billion dollars. Do God’s work!
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You heard it here first! The Lottie Moon Offering will hit an all-time high. In today's trustee meeting, @DrPaulChitwood gave a preview of how Southern Baptists are rallying around the world's greatest problem. We're grateful for your generosity! pic.twitter.com/6bTLOcT9AB
— IMB (@IMB_SBC) September 29, 2022
