Southern Baptists set another record in giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in 2002, the International Mission Board announced June 5.
Churches gave $115,015,216 to the offering, an increase of $1.3 million (1.15 percent) over 2001 but nearly $10 million short of the $125 million goal.
“We are grateful that Southern Baptists have a heart for missions and continue to give so faithfully and generously to the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering,” IMB President Jerry Rankin said. “Southern Baptists continue to set new records for giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, as well as through Cooperative Program Missions, which is the foundation of cooperative support for our convention to fulfill the Great Commission.
“Because of the amazing growth in missionary personnel and unprecedented new opportunities all over the world, however, all of the $125 million goal was included in the operating budget. As a result, we are having to restrict the approval of available missionary candidates for the first time since the Depression years of the 1930s.”
As well as restricting the number of new missionaries, the board took action to reduce overseas work budgets by $2 million and the home office support budget by $4 million, the latter through staff reductions and suspending some products and services, said David Steverson, IMB vice president for finance.
“Since 78 percent of the total budget is for staff and missionary support, remaining fiscally responsible requires us to send only the number of missionaries that can be supported with the gifts,” he said. “Giving has not declined. It simply has not kept pace with the growth in the number of missionaries God is calling.”
(BP)
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