It doesn’t take long for members of Baptist churches to become familiar with the name Lottie Moon.
The celebrated missionary to China was the inspiration for the nationwide Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions.
During this Christmas season, churches across Alabama are using various methods to promote giving to the special offering.
Coldwater Baptist Church, Oxford, held a fall missions festival Nov. 10, raising more than $600 toward its $3,000 goal with craft booths, a country store and a bake sale.
The Calhoun Baptist Association church is also planning to give all proceeds from its annual Christmastime White Elephant Auction to the Lottie Moon offering. Attendees bid on the wrapped new, used or gag gifts, and the buyer is required to open the gift in front of everyone. Recent years have seen the auction raise from $300 to $600 in one evening.
“We love knowing that God can take little and make much from what we give,” said Peggy Ginn, director of Coldwater Baptist’s Woman’s Missionary Union. “It’s not the money but how many souls can be won to the Lord if only we support our missionaries and missions as a whole.”
Using drama, competition
First Baptist Church, Opp, in Covington Baptist Association sought to educate its members, working toward a $20,500 goal, with professional Christian entertainers Kirk and Patti Lytle of Longwood, Fla., performing a drama depicting the struggles and sacrifices made by Moon in reaching the Chinese.
The Women on Mission group at Boone’s Chapel Baptist Church, Prattville, in Autauga Baptist Association, has scheduled a missions tea party as part of its bimonthly Ladies’ Night Out Program.
Cathi Esco, one of the event’s planners, said the party, complete with a table decorating contest, door prizes and a guest missionary speaker, serves as a kickoff promotion to help reach the church’s $5,000 goal.
At Harmony Grove Baptist Church, Winfield, Pastor Tim Meherg hopes a little friendly competition will spark interest in giving toward its $1,700 goal.
Meherg created a contest in which members of the Marion Baptist Association church compete to see which age group donates the most.
All members younger than 40 will give their offerings on a given Sunday, and those 40 and older will give theirs the following Sunday.
Harmony Grove’s Lottie Moon fund also benefited from the sale of tickets to throw a pie in the face of their pastor at the church’s fall festival.
While some churches employ unique and creative methods of promotion, others are using traditional methods that have worked well for several years.
Lakeview Baptist Church, Auburn, in Tuskegee Lee Baptist Association, sends a letter to each church member as a reminder of the giving season and the importance of supporting international missions.
Pastor Al Jackson also promotes the Lottie Moon offering from the pulpit, and the church uses promotional videos and other materials produced by the International Mission Board (IMB).
While the church does not set a specific goal, it raised more than $130,000 for the offering last year, according to the 2006 church report released by the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions in March.
In similar fashion, Southside Baptist Church, Ozark, regularly announces opportunities to give throughout the month of December.
The Dale Baptist Association church also conducts the IMB’s International Mission Study, which features the lives and work of international missionaries, and then holds an ingathering service during which members are invited to present their offering. This year, the church has set a $6,650 goal.
Lottie Moon ‘post office’
Fairhaven Baptist Church, Demopolis, in Bethel Baptist Association conducts an annual missions offering. Promoted November through January, the offering is taken to support Southern Baptist causes such as the IMB, the North American Mission Board, the World Hunger Offering and state missions.
A designated percentage goes to Lottie Moon each year. This year’s total missions offering goal is $18,000.
Some churches use a Lottie Moon “post office.” A special mailbox is set up for members to mail Christmas cards to each other, and members calculate the postage or make a desired donation to the offering when “mailing” their cards.
Missions groups within the church often sponsor the post office such as the Royal Ambassadors from Fairhaven Baptist; Acteens at First Baptist Church, Winfield, in Marion Association; and Baptist Women at First Baptist Church, Vernon, in Lamar Baptist Association.
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