The motto for this year at Carolina Baptist Church, Andalusia, is “Expect more in 2007.” But the Covington Baptist Association church experienced this a little earlier than expected.
On Dec. 31, 2006, the church, which has about 200 in regular Sunday attendance, had raised about $38,000 toward its Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal of $41,000. Pastor Matt C. Brady announced that about $3,000 more was needed, and by the end of that Sunday’s evening service, the church had collected that and more, totaling $58,000. And the church is still giving, with $61,000 collected to date.
“I don’t know what we’ll end up with,” said Brady, who noted that the church will collect money until the February deadline.
The goal for the church, which has a history of large per capita giving to missions, was set by Kim Dunaway, wife of Kevin Dunaway, Carolina Baptist’s youth and education minister. Dunaway wanted to increase the church’s goal for 2006 by 10 percent, which would be just less than the nearly $41,000 needed to put a missionary on the field for one year. So Dunaway chose that as the goal, which was also $6,000 more than what the church had given in 2005.
When Dunaway shared the goal with her pastor, his inner reaction was less positive than he wanted it to be. “I tried to act … full of faith, but in my heart, I said, ‘This will have to be a God thing,’” Brady said. “And there you go. It’s been phenomenal.”
The church’s giving was not restricted to the annual offering, however. Giving was also up for the general budget and building fund, he noted. “It’s the physics of giving,” Brady said. “God’s order of physics is when you give, you’re blessed and when you’re blessed, you can give.”
As for the upcoming Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, “we’re going to have to step it up,” he said.
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