JEFFERSON CITY – The Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering 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.
Freedom on the Inside: From Incarcerated to Equipped
Rodrick Sweet directs Freedom on the Inside, a ministry of Hannibal-LaGrange University that equips inmates at the Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC) to become Christian leaders.
Rodrick Sweet
Currently, 41 men at JCCC are working toward degrees in Christian ministry, and 14 have come to faith in Christ since the program began in 2020. Sweet’s students have established a worship service in the Administrative Segregation Unit, where violent offenders are housed and enjoy limited privileges. The center’s housing director even shows up on his day off to assist inmates as they lead worship.
“We’re thankful to the Lord that men are deepening their walk with Jesus Christ through this program,” says Sweet.
Pray for:
• More men at JCCC to come to faith in Christ
• Sweet and other leaders of Freedom on the Inside
A Stethoscope and Gospel Seeds: MBU’s Pursuit of Global Engagement
Avyrie Hamstra planted a gospel seed through the gift of a stethoscope. Hamstra is one of many nursing students from Missouri Baptist University who recently provided basic medical care and shared the gospel with refugees from Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan at an international camp in Greece.
During their mission, the students met a 13-year-old girl and told her about Jesus. In her broken English, the young teen engaged in conversation and revealed that she wants to serve others through a career in healthcare. Hamstra and her fellow students gave the girl a stethoscope to get her started – and as a reminder of the gospel seed they planted in her heart.
Pray for:
• MBU students going on mission each summer
• Avyrie Hamstra, her fellow students, and the young teen in this story