T.J. Odom says his family loves Scotland — they love the people’s witty banter and their fun-loving nature.
But when he and his wife, Dena — members of Bethel Baptist Church, Citronelle — moved to Glasgow seven years ago it wasn’t those things that drew them. It was the fact that underneath the Scots’ cheery exterior were hearts in desperate need of hope.
Though the country once had a “thriving bulwark” of a church it’s now full of people whose main religion is secularism, humanism or even a “religious” devotion to soccer, Odom said. Less than 2% of Scotland’s population are followers of Jesus, and that keeps the Odoms up at night.
So the couple — along with their son, Eli, and daughter, Maggie — serve there with the International Mission Board (IMB) so they can show the Scottish people the love and hope offered in Jesus.
Seeing the Lord work
“We have spent the last seven years engaging with Scottish people, seeking to make disciples who make other disciples, with the prayer that churches will be birthed as a result,” Odom said.
In one place they have been working alongside a Scottish family to plant a church, and they “have seen the Lord work in ways that have not been prevalent in Scotland for a long time,” he said. “Through this partnership we have witnessed people coming to faith, disciples being made and now a new generation of young leaders being trained.”
Thanks to the gifts of Southern Baptists, IMB personnel like the Odoms are taking the gospel to people all over the world who haven’t heard it yet. They’re witnessing lives being changed and churches planted. More than 3,600 IMB workers are scattered across the globe engaging unreached people with the hope of Jesus.
One major way that work is funded is through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO) for International Missions, named in honor of Moon, a missionary who gave her life to take the gospel to China more than a century ago. One hundred percent of LMCO goes straight to missionaries who are making disciples and multiplying churches among unreached people groups. The national offering goal this year is $165 million.
Featured missionaries
This season of giving begins with the Week of Prayer for International Missions, set this year for Dec. 1–8.
The week will highlight stories of missionaries who, like the Odoms, are supported by the LMCO:
- Bulgarians are desperate for hope but they’re not interested in anything to do with religion. So Brian and Mandy Davis spend their days building relationships to display the life-changing love of Jesus.
- Of the 50 least-reached campuses in North America, 34 are in Quebec. But IMB missionaries Robert and Sharon Pinkston say they believe if students could just experience the opportunity to hear the gospel many of them would believe it.
- The homeless men who live on the streets of Tokyo aren’t used to being looked in the eye, much less called by name. So when Mark Bennett gives them bread, loves them like Jesus and greets them personally it’s a game changer.
- In South Korea, IMB missionary Hun Sol believes missions and revival go together. As he trains Korean students to go out into other parts of Asia and share the gospel he hopes the passion they bring back with them will spark a movement back home too.
- For months Venezuelans have been spilling into Colombia by the thousands. They’re hungry and desperate for help and hope. Paul and Robin Tinley say it’s round-the-clock work to meet the onslaught of needs — but also an unprecedented open door for the gospel.
- The plight of migrant workers in Mexico can seem depressing — they live in poverty and perform backbreaking work every day with very little rest. But David and Ann Boyter and their teammates say God is breaking their cycle of hopelessness with new life.
- In the East Asian country where Peter Station serves reaching nomadic herdsmen with the gospel is like hitting a moving target — they pack up their tents and change locations as often as once a month. But even so he’s watching disciples grow strong roots in the gospel.
Guides and videos
Prayer guides and videos with these stories and more are available for individuals, groups and churches to download or order for free. For more information visit imb.org/lottie-moon-christmas-offering.
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