Happy December Broadview Family,
I hope you’re having a good week.
December is one of my favorite months in the year. Not just because of the weather and celebration of Christmas. I also love December because it’s the last month before a new year. There’s a change of pace that happens in December that prompts you to think back over the previous 11 months and look forward to the next 12.
That’s one of the reasons why we publish our World Missions Offering brochure in December. It’s a publication that looks back on what God has done this past year. It celebrates the spread of God’s fame throughout our own Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Uttermost. It also casts a vision for where we believe God is leading us over the next 12 months and how we can get there.
This year, you’ll see some new trips such as the Lesotho, South Africa mission trip. As you’ll read about in the brochure, the Lord has opened a door for us to have a strategic impact on the unengaged and unreached peoples of Lesotho. Because of this opportunity and the nascent nature of the work, we’ve planned up to three trips to kick-start the project.
There are discussions already in the works to send our next long-term missionary to this area so that we can more aggressively spread the Gospel in the valley region that we’ve adopted. It’s pretty exciting stuff! That’s not to say we’re giving up on any of our other work. Brazil, East Asia, and the other usual trips are all still planned for 2018.
In order for us to compete these trips and to continue advancing the good work of missionaries and church planters all around the world, we need the involvement of every member of our church. It takes the WHOLE church to do missions. I know not everybody is able to write the “really big checks” but that doesn’t mean you can’t be generous.
Generosity isn’t about the amount of money that you give. It’s about the level of sacrifice you’re willing to make. Would you consider making a sacrificial donation to the World Missions Offering this year? For you that may mean $100. It might mean $1,000. Or, it might even mean $10,000. But all of us can do something.
More than that, when ALL of us do something, God is able multiply that and turn it into something really spectacular. You’ll read about some of those stories in the World Missions brochure this Sunday. Any gift you make is an investment into God’s Kingdom being advanced among the unreached of our world. That’s an investment that pays dividends in ETERNITY. Those type of investments are vastly more important than the ones we make into our 401K.
While you’re seeking the Lord on what you should do, can I also encourage you to consider a (smaller) monthly donation to the Wnew Missions Offering for the next 11 months? We’re engaged in missions all year long. And, we need ongoing financial support to make that possible. With a one-time sacrificial gift made this month and a continued commitment to give for the next 11 months, we could see some amazing things happen.
People will be sent as missionaries from THIS local congregation. People who’ve never even heard the name of Jesus will experience God’s salvation because of the Gospel witness that we plan to provide. Through your giving, you’ll be “making friends for yourself in the eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9) People will be in heaven as a result of your generosity! People who otherwise would’ve spent eternity separated from God. Isn’t their potential salvation worth the sacrifice?
Besides, I’ve found that any money I invest into God’s plan for reaching the nations has always found it’s way back to me plus more. Obviously I’m not suggesting that you give so that God will make you richer. I am, however, pointing out the correlation between God’s ability to bless you financially and your generosity towards his redemptive purposes among the unreached.
If nothing else, just TEST the Lord with a one-time gift this December and see what happens. I bet you’ll be surprised by His response. You can’t out-give God. Enjoy reading these stories and testimonies. Pray with us and for us as we join God in his work around the world. Lastly, consider going on one of these trips yourself and see what it’s like on the “front lines.”
Your co-laborer in the Great Commission,
Pastor Wes