Missouri Baptists dug deep and gave generously in 2012 to the Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering. As a result, they surpassed the MMO goal for the first time since 2000.
Receipts for 2012, which are disbursed in 2013, totaled $691,722, exceeding the goal of $675,000.
“Thank you, Missouri Baptists,” said John Yeats, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention. “Your faithfulness in stewardship and your sacrificial giving impacts lives for Christ throughout our state.”
MMO supports statewide missions projects that focus on three areas: sharing Christ’s love; sending missionaries; and starting churches.
Examples include:
• The Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, which receives 17 percent of the offering
• Disaster relief efforts
• Christian Women’s Job Corps
• Missouri partnership missions
• Collegiate summer missionaries
• Preschool/children’s ministries
• Missouri hunger relief
• Sports evangelism
• Youth evangelism and missions
• New church initiatives
• Baptist Builders
• Associational partnerships; 10 percent of the offering from each of the state’s 61 associations is sent back to that association
• Resort ministries … and more
These projects complement Cooperative Program (CP) ministries but are not funded directly through CP giving, noted Yeats.
“Without MMO, these vital projects that advance the kingdom of God in Missouri would be severely limited. Thanks to the generous financial support of Missouri Baptists, these ministries are strengthened.”
More than 800 Missouri Baptist churches participated in MMO in 2012, the highest level of involvement since 2009.
Missouri Baptists approved a 2013 MMO goal of $700,000. The MBC will announce the 2013 theme and provide churches with MMO resources in June.