Jerry Wilkins said he knew he couldn’t meet God that way, couldn’t face the fact at the end of his life that he’d done nothing to help.
“I was reading some books about persecuted Christians, especially those under ISIS as they move across Iraq and Syria. The way they are being killed tears your heart out,” said Wilkins, a member of Lakewood Baptist Church, Northport. “And as I was reading those eyewitness accounts of Christians who were running for their lives, living in tents, some whose children were beheaded, I said, ‘Lord, what am I doing? I’m doing nothing to reach out to these brothers and sisters in need.’”
He decided that he could no longer do nothing. He talked to his church about it.
And together they voted to start a weekly fund for persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
“We started challenging our members to sacrifice something every week, whether that be a yogurt or a dessert or a new shirt, and give the money each week from the item that they decided they could do without,” Wilkins said.
And on Aug. 9 they collected the offering for the very first time in red and white envelopes and spent time in prayer for the persecuted Church in the Middle East.
They’re planning to do that every week from now on.
“We called the International Mission Board, and they told us how to designate the offering through them so that it would go to Christians in that specific part of the world,” Wilkins said. “If only half of our members gave $10 a week, it would be several hundred dollars a month, and thousands for the year. And what if more churches started doing the same thing?”
There’s strength in numbers, Wilkins said. “We can make an impact together.”
Sammy Gilbreath, director of the office of evangelism and discipleship for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, agreed.
Powerful testimony
“I was impressed with the Persecuted Christians Fund,” said Gilbreath, who was the guest speaker at Lakewood Baptist the week the church began implementing the offering. “Jerry Wilkins did a great job explaining how many Christians die under persecution every day. It was a quick but powerful testimony with a clear ‘how to’ make a difference. I was moved to be a part of this effort.”
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If your church is interested in giving in a similar way, call the IMB at 1-800-999-3113 and request more info on the Middle East Refugee Fund.
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