Today’s China is a world of rapid change. It is home to 1.3 billion individuals, one-fifth of the world’s population. Village dwellers flock to trendy megacities with exploding populations. And China holds its own in the world’s economy. It is very different from the vast farmland Lottie Moon entered in the 1800s. But one thing hasn’t changed: China’s need for a Savior.Lottie Moon-the namesake of the international missions offering, the largest single offering taken at many churches-has become something of a legend. But in her time Lottie was anything but an untouchable hero. In fact, she was like today’s missionaries. She was a hard-working, deep-loving Southern Baptist who labored tirelessly so the people group she loved and to whom she ministered, could know Jesus.

Her mission
When she set sail for China, Lottie was 32 years old. She had turned down a marriage proposal and left her job, home, and family to follow God’s lead. Her path wasn’t typical for an educated woman from a wealthy Southern family. But Lottie did not serve a typical God. He had gripped her with the Chinese peoples’ need for a Savior.

For 39 years Lottie labored, chiefly in Tengchow and P’ingtu. People feared and rejected her, but she refused to leave. She found that baking could overcome many obstacles. The aroma of fresh-baked cookies drew people to her house. She adopted traditional Chinese dress, and she learned China’s language and customs. Lottie didn’t just serve the people of China; she identified with them. Many eventually accepted her. And some accepted her Savior.

Her vision

Lottie’s vision wasn’t just for the people of China. It reached to her fellow Southern Baptists in the United States. Like today’s missionaries, she wrote letters home, detailing China’s hunger for truth and the struggle of so few missionaries sharing the gospel with so many people-472 million Chinese in her day. She shared another timely message, too: the urgent need for more workers and for Christians in the United States to passionately support them through prayer and giving.

She suggested a special offering being taken at Christmas time. She proposed that 100% of this offering would go directly to missions so that a few more missionaries could be sent to minister overseas.
In 1912, during a time of war and famine, Lottie silently starved, knowing that her beloved Chinese didn’t have enough food. Her fellow Christians saw the ultimate sign of love: giving her life for others. Just before her death, friends persuaded Lottie to board a ship that would take her to medical treatment. But Lottie’s life was too far gone. On Christmas Eve, Lottie died on a ship bound for the United States.

But her legacy lives on. And today, when gifts aren’t growing as quickly as the number of workers God is calling to the field, her call for sacrificial giving rings with more urgency than ever.

What started as a small supplemental gift, now has become 52% of all of the monies give toward international missions. The Christmas offering is the major source of income for international missions of the largest protestant fellowship of churches, the Southern Baptist Convention.

Every penny goes directly to ministry overseas. Stateside support staff and even the costs involved in purchasing offering envelopes are all covered from other sources. The Lottie Moon Christmas offering for international missions is the most effective and efficient use of dollars in international ministry. Not only does it support the essential ministry of explaining the Good News of Jesus Christ to those with interest, but it also places the people on the ground for the majority of the ministries of compassion funded by American generosity.

Since we already have dedicated believers in so many needy places of the world, whether it is starvation in West Africa or a tsunami in South East Asia, the people are already in place that have the local connections to get food and help to where it is needed, to get the job done well. These dedicated representatives not only help us see our own hunger fund and ministries of compassion are effective. But many ministries that are able to raise funds in the U.S., but actually have no staff on the ground where the help is needed, can rely on Southern Baptists to see the job done. And they are there because of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Thank you for your generosity!

For more information on Lottie Moon go to: http://www.imb.org/main/give/page.asp?StoryID=5524&LanguageID=1709
For quick facts about the ministry of our international mission board, go to:http://www.imb.org/main/give/page.asp?StoryID=5523&LanguageID=1709

For more information on the First Baptist Church of Perryville, go to: http://www.perryville.org/?page_id=2