JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Baptist Children’s Home introduced John, an autistic and nonverbal child, to a loving, Christian adoptive family. The MBC Leader Care Network provided Christian counseling to a pastor’s family that survived a devastating house fire. And Tino, a student from Zimbabwe attending Southeast Missouri State University, came to faith in Christ through the MBC’s campus mission there.
All of this – and much more – is possible only because Missouri Baptist church members give faithfully to the Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering (MMO). Our annual state missions offering supports more than two dozen ministries. These include Christian foster care, disaster relief, church revitalization, and other projects that help transform lives and communities with the gospel.
Later this month, the Missouri Baptist Convention is mailing packets of promotional materials to church leaders across the state to help them prepare for the 2023 state missions offering. 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. 10-17.
The theme of this year’s offering is drawn from Romans 10, in which the apostle Paul expresses the urgency of sharing the gospel. Drawing from the prophet Isaiah, Paul writes, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” (Rom. 10:15).
Reflecting on this passage, MBC Executive Director John Yeats notes, “What a privilege Missouri Baptists have to take the gospel to those in our state who so desperately need to hear it. When we give back to Him a portion of His abundance through MMO, we’re investing in the transformation of lives and communities with the gospel all across Missouri.”
Last year, 679 Missouri Baptist churches supported MMO and gave an all-time record amount of $990,740. Yeats expressed his hope that the number of participating churches increases this year: “If your church hasn’t been taking up an MMO offering, please review the promotional resources arriving soon and bless your people with an opportunity to give willingly to the Lord’s work across our state.”
The statewide goal this year is $750,000.
Supporting missions projects
MMO is our state’s annual missions offering, named after Rheubin L. South, the late MBC executive director who pioneered the annual giving emphasis that today supports projects in five areas of ministry:
(1) Making disciples – sports evangelism; VBS ministry training and resource development; youth evangelism and missions; and the state fair ministry of the Missouri DOM Fellowship.
(2) Collegiate ministries – summer missions mentoring initiative; and an international student ministry through a network of Missouri Baptists and MBC-affiliated churches.
(3) Multiplying churches – next-step requests for church multipliers; partnership missions in Mexico, Italy, Minnesota/Wisconsin, and Montana; strategic missionary development; and Missouri WMU.
(4) Developing leaders – disaster relief equipment and volunteer readiness; the Leader Care Network; a conference for new pastors, revitalizers, and replanters; Missouri Baptist Resound Network; collegiate disaster relief internships; hunger relief; Baptist Builders; and a Pathway journalism retreat.
(5) Synergy (working with MBC entities) –moral injury training, senior workshops for church leaders, recreational discipleship, and a certified nursing assistants program through Baptist Homes; a four-year biblical studies degree through a prison ministry of Hannibal-LaGrange University; the training and sending of 20 mission teams through Southwest Baptist University’s Center for Global Connections; and a partnership with the International Mission Board and local churches to equip and send Missouri Baptist University students on mission trips to Africa and the Americas.
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.
Promotional packets
The promotional packets feature a get-started guide, posters, prayer guide, allocations budget, associational report, clip art, sample giving envelope, 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,” says Yeats.
There are four simple ways to order MMO materials:
• Complete the order card 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.
• Send an email to jcampbell@mobaptist.org.