One week was all it took for the people of Covington Baptist Association to forever change their perspective on missions and to learn the importance of giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
During those seven days, 18 people from different churches in the association traveled to Maracaibo, Venezuela. The group joined 144 other Alabama Baptists as part of an evangelism effort by the offices of global partnership and evangelism of the State Board of Missions Aug. 13–20, 2001. More than 5,000 decisions were made as a result of multiple efforts in Maracaibo.
“We had revival teams and block parties all over the city,” said Larry Cummings, Covington director of missions. “They said the Baptist population in Maracaibo doubled in one week.”
For Debbie Blankenship and other team members, the trip brought home the impact missions has on other people’s lives.
“It was a life-changing experience for everybody who went,” said Blankenship, church development coordinator/counselor for Covington Association.
“There are a ton of people out there who don’t know anything about Jesus; they don’t have a clue,” said Calvin Smith, a member of Westview Baptist Church in Opp. “But they are willing to listen.”
“The people we worked with just touched our hearts,” Blankenship said. “They had such great material needs from an American perspective, but they were so open and willing to hear about the Lord.”
Even more heartening was that people did not angrily question God about why their plight in life was not better, Blankenship said.
She said the trip “seems to have lighted a fire in our association.”
Cummings said churches saw an increase in giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering during the December emphasis.
“We had a renewed enthusiasm for it and we had a better understanding of what Lottie Moon is,” Blankenship said.
Cummings said when participants on the missions trip asked missionaries the best thing they could do to help them, they were told to give to Lottie Moon.
Smith said his experience has made him more appreciative of missionaries who speak at his church, admitting his interest in their work has increased since the trip.
“Now that I know what they go through, I listen more,” he said. “Our trip has made me more aware of the need for missions.”
Blankenship said churches in the association have planned a construction missions trip this year to help American Indians in Oklahoma, and several churches have scheduled missions trips to Mexico.
In addition, four women from Covington Baptist Association are among 10 people participating in a missions trip to Valencia, Venezuela, March 24–April 1, sponsored by Alabama Woman’s Missionary Union.
Cummings said the association is also exploring how it can become involved in Alabama’s partnership with Baptist churches in the Northeast.
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