JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptists gave more to state missions in 2022 than in any previous year, setting a new record of $990,740 for the Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering (MMO), according to just-released preliminary figures.
Total MMO receipts for 2022, which are disbursed in 2023, outpaced the goal of $740,000 and shattered the previous record of $824,436 set in 2021.
2022 marked the 10th straight year of MMO receipts above $700,000. The number of churches contributing to MMO fell from 744 in 2021 to 679 in 2022, although average giving per participating church rose significantly.
JEFFERSON CITY – With the guidance of Missouri Disaster Relief chainsaw leader Cody Sheets, DR collegiate intern Sharadyn Eldridge chops through a tree during a relief project last summer. The Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) collegiate DR efforts are possible because MBC churches give generously through the Missouri Missions Offering (MMO) and the Cooperative Program (CP). (Pathway photo courtesy of MODR)
Contributing to the MMO windfall were two large gifts, one from an individual and one from a church, totaling about $150,000.
Missouri Baptists responded enthusiastically to the MMO theme of Romans 12:10, in which the apostle Paul urges his readers to “Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.”
MBC Executive Director John Yeats expressed profound gratitude for Missouri Baptists’ commitment to sacrificial giving. “In a roller-coaster year of high inflation and market plunges, Missouri Baptists gave steadfastly, trusting in the providence of God and sacrificially supporting the Lord’s work across our state,” he said.
Yeats noted the following giving totals in 2022:
• Gifts to Annie Armstrong totaled $2,323,090, down 3.62 percent from the previous year.
• Giving to Lottie Moon reached $4,216,703, up 1.6 percent over 2021.
• And contributions to World Hunger fell to $164,692, a 7.6 percent decrease.
• Meanwhile, giving through the Cooperative Program totaled $14,699,144, falling short of the spending plan of $15 million by about 2 percent and dropping 4.96 percent below CP receipts in 2021.
Additional year-end funds may yet add to these totals.
“This is a work only the Lord can do through the willing hearts and hands of Missouri Baptists,” said Yeats. “We praise our great God for his goodness, and we thank Missouri Baptists for the manner in which they love one another deeply.”
MMO’s upward trend
The record-breaking MMO offering in 2022 highlights an upward trend in MMO giving in recent years, according to the MBC’s Rob Phillips, who coordinates promotion of the state missions offering.
“We are so grateful to Missouri Baptists and MBC-affiliated churches for their sacrificial giving in support of more than two dozen ministries across our state,” he said. “Their faithful stewardship – in the face of economic uncertainties and personal financial setbacks – testifies to their trust in the providence of God.”
MMO giving has increased for several reasons, he said. First, Missouri Baptists have caught the vision of direct support for specific ministries in the state. Second, individual donors and churches see the value in large one-time gifts to state missions. Third, Missouri Baptists know that every penny given through MMO goes directly to missions projects, with no funds earmarked for overhead. This results in a greater direct impact on transforming lives and communities with the gospel.
“When you know that your gifts help foster children find Christian homes, provide compassionate care for the elderly, and take the gospel to unreached people groups in Missouri, you can see the direct connection between MMO gifts and gospel impact,” he said.
Great Commission support
MMO supports statewide missions projects that help fulfill the Great Commission. The annual offering in 2022 focused on four areas of ministry that define the MBC’s mission:
(1) Making disciples – sports evangelism; VBS ministry training and resource development; youth evangelism and missions; moral injury training through Baptist Homes; and the state fair ministry of the Missouri DOM Fellowship.
(2) Collegiate ministries – a summer missions mentoring initiative; Licensed Practical Nursing training and field experience; HLGU’s initiative to offer a biblical studies degree to inmates; a metro collegiate ministry initiative; internships for hospice care; collegiate global missions; Christian worldview and public engagement; and collegiate ministry networks.
(3) Multiplying churches – next-step requests for church multipliers; partnership missions in Mexico, Italy, Minnesota/Wisconsin, and Montana; strategic missionary development; and support of a church plant focused on ministry to veterans.
(4) Developing leaders – disaster relief equipment and volunteer readiness; Missouri WMU; strategic leadership initiatives; Resound network training and development; collegiate disaster relief internships; conferences for new pastors and church revitalizers/replanters; hunger relief; and 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 contributing churches, where the funds support regional mission projects.
Funds raised in excess of the MMO goal are placed in reserve for future missions opportunities. At the same time, 10 percent of gifts above the goal is given to Missouri WMU, which promotes state, national, and international missions in MBC-affiliated churches. And this year, a gift of $25,000 is being given to Baptist Homes to assist with their ministries to the aged.
Missouri Baptists approved a 2023 MMO goal of $750,000. This June, the MBC announces the 2023 theme and provides churches with MMO resources.