JEFFERSON CITY – The MBC this week is mailing packets of promotional materials to churches across the state to help them prepare for the 2017 Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering (MMO).
The packets should arrive early in July, giving church leaders ample time to prepare for MMO’s fall promotion and week of prayer, slated for Sept. 17-24.
The scriptural theme this year is 1 Cor. 3:9a (KJV): “For we are labourers together with God.”
MBC Executive Director John Yeats notes, “Missouri Baptists are co-laborers, indeed, working side-by-side to transform lives and communities with the gospel. From the ministries of the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home to the work of disaster relief volunteers, MMO-supported missions projects reach hundreds of communities across our state.”
The statewide goal this year is $710,000. Last year, Missouri Baptists contributed $705,506 to MMO through 757 churches. Dr. Yeats is challenging MBC churches that have not supported MMO in recent years to help raise the number of participating churches to 800.
Supporting missions projects
MMO is our state’s annual missions offering, named after Rheubin L. South, the late executive director who pioneered the annual giving emphasis that today supports projects in three areas of ministry:
- Making disciples – collegiate summer missions; sports evangelism; MBC apprenticeship initiative; youth evangelism and missions; international student ministry missions conference and new work resources project; and Missouri State Fair ministry
- Multiplying churches – next-step requests for church multipliers; developing church multipliers and sending churches; partnership missions; and an ethnic group pastors and wives conference
- Developing leaders – disaster relief; Missouri WMU; developing leaders strategic initiatives; church revitalization projects; hunger relief; and Missouri Baptist Builders
In addition, 17 percent of MMO receipts go to the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, which provides spiritual guidance, counseling, and a safe haven from abuse and neglect at five state campuses.
And 10 percent of MMO gifts go back to the associations of the giving churches, where the funds support regional missions projects.
Promotional packets
The promotional packets feature a getting-started guide, posters, bulletin inserts, prayer guide, allocations budget, and an order card.
Most of these resources are available as free downloads at mobaptist.org/mmo. The move toward electronic resources enables the MBC to significantly reduce postage fees and invest more in MMO mission projects.
“We encourage you to set a faith goal for your church and use the promotional resources to show how the Lord uses even the smallest gift to do great things,” said Yeats.
There are three simple ways to order MMO materials:
- Complete the order form in the promotional mailer, and send it back. All materials are free of charge.
- Click on mobaptist.org/mmo to download materials or to place an order electronically.
- Call 1.800.736.6227, ext. 303, to tell us which resources to send.