To reinforce our core value of Being Outward Focused someone in BPF’s early days came up with the idea of celebrating our birthday each year by collecting a World Missions Offering (WMO) and giving it all away to other Gospel focused partners. Last year that WMO surpassed $100,000 for the first time ever.
As in years past, we’ll allocate 50% to the International Mission Board (IMB), 20% to the North American Mission Board (NAMB), 5% to Reach Texas (RT), and 25% to a special project. I’ll announce our 2022 special project recipient this Sunday, March 20 along with an exciting new opportunity we have in the Pacific Northwest.
Each week leading up to our April 10 WMO collection day, I’d like to highlight one of the four recipients of this annual offering of gratitude. This week I’m highlighting the International Mission Board. The IMB is our main world missions’ partner, sharing the Gospel and planting churches in nearly every nation of the world, including the hardest and often most dangerous places to reach. 91% of IMB missionary teams work among the unreached peoples of the world, where the population is less than 2% evangelical Christian.
Our gifts, along with those from 40,000 other Great Commission Baptist Churches in our denomination, support nearly 4000 missionaries. Two of those missionaries have personal ties to BPF. Greg Johnson, serving with his wife Savannah in South America, grew up here and went on his first short term mission trip with us. Just last year we sent Allie White, a former Student Ministry and Missions intern, to Uganda for a two year assignment as a Journeyman Missionary.
One of the things I appreciate most about the IMB is that they have a presence wherever the latest news is breaking around the world. We have IMB missionaries throughout Eastern Europe serving refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine. They’re also supporting and serving alongside churches and ministries inside Ukraine. FOLLOW THIS LINK to an article and short video highlighting the work of the Ukrainian Baptist Seminary ministering to and sharing the gospel with refugees fleeing to safety. Please remember them in your prayers.
And Live Bold,
Greg
