JEFFERSON CITY – The Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering (MMO) supports more than two dozen ministries in Missouri. This year’s theme is taken from 1 Chronicles 16:23: “Sing to the LORD all the earth. Proclaim his salvation from day to day.” The MMO Eight Days of Prayer are Sept. 8-15.
Following are two short stories about how the gifts of Missouri Baptists support missions projects throughout the Show Me State.
Rebuilding Homes, Restoring Hope: MODR Collegiate Internships
Kaden York is one of many college students serving as Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (MODR) summer interns. After a tornado ripped through the southeast Missouri town of Hayti, York and his colleagues helped rebuild two homes the twister had destroyed, displacing their residents.
Along the way, York learned how to use specialized power tools, frame walls, hang sheet rock, and hone his leadership skills. He also had the opportunity to interact with people and share the love of Jesus with them.
York and his fellow interns responded to five incidents in 2023, taking them to disaster relief and recovery sites in Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.
Pray for:
• More college students to apply for and serve as DR interns
• Disaster survivors to come to faith in Christ
Hazael Rodriguez
Prayer and Vision in Southwest Missouri: Starting New Hispanic Churches
Pastor Hazael Rodriguez has been planting churches in Springfield for 20 years. His first was a partnership with First Baptist, Springfield. Iglesia Cristiana Casa de Oracion (House of Prayer Christian Church) now has its own building, and the congregation has sent mission teams to several Latin American countries.
The church also has broadened its vision with a goal to begin five new churches in southwest Missouri over the next five years. Work has begun in Carthage and Bolivar, and the hope is to expand to Branson and Neosho. Rodriguez says there are 30,000 Hispanics in the area and estimates 80,000 in 10 years.
Pray for:
• Associations and churches to help Rodriguez start Hispanic churches
• Church plants with a heart for Hispanics.