I was asked by my Director of Missions to write a letter to my fellow pastors in the Frisco Baptist Association about our church’s involvement in the Christmas in August emphasis. Below is the text of my letter.
Dear Pastor,
I’m writing to ask you to consider putting a critical need before your people: the budget shortfall at the International Mission Board. The 2008 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering fell some $30 million short of the goal, and according to a friend who is a trustee, the immediate shortfall they’re facing stands at $13 million. SBC President Johnny Hunt has called on churches to celebrate “Christmas in August,” and Trinity Baptist in Valliant will be participating. I plan to preach mission-themed messages each Sunday of the month, I’m working on lining up a guest speaker from the IMB for one of those Sundays, and we’re even going to have Christmas dinner on August 30, the fifth Sunday of the month. We’re not planning to set a goal for this special offering; we’re simply emphasizing the need and trusting God to lead us in how we can contribute.
Will you consider leading your church to participate in this very special emphasis? Dr. Thomas White, Vice-President for Communications at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, is leading an effort there to provide participating churches with materials to aid in its promotion. In addition to the logo you see on this page, there will be promotional videos and other materials available for use by churches. They’ve established a web page where these materials can be accessed: http://www.swbts.edu/christmasinaugust. If you don’t have internet access, or aren’t sure how to access these resources in a way that’s usable in your congregation, don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll be glad to help.
This is the first time in the history of the International Mission Board that otherwise qualified missionaries could not be deployed to the field due to a lack of resources. Let’s join together in Frisco Baptist Association to contribute to the meeting of this need, so that no one else who has committed their lives to missionary service will have to be told that we don’t have the money to send them.
God bless,
Wes Kenney
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I am so glad our church was led to participate in this mission. Our children thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a blessing to everyone. It is sad that there is a need for the project but good that we could help in our small but important way. Thank you, Bro. Wes for your leadership in missions.
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