Your gift to the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering is a sure thing.
You know beyond a shadow of a doubt that all the money
you give will go to that purpose and to that purpose only. The money goes specifically
and directly and completely for direct support of Louisiana Baptist Convention
efforts to lead the lost of the state to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and
help them grow in their discipleship.
Your gift to the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering is a sure thing.
You know beyond a shadow of a doubt that all the money
you give will go to that purpose and to that purpose only. The money goes specifically
and directly and completely for direct support of Louisiana Baptist Convention
efforts to lead the lost of the state to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and
help them grow in their discipleship.
In recent years, a great deal of media attention has put a spotlight
on the spending of charitable organizations, particularly what portion of the
receipts goes directly to the promoted causes. Some charities spend large portions
of their receipts on raising the money. Direct mailings, professional phone
solicitations, personal cultivation of individual donors and organizations all
are high cost but necessary expense items for these charities. In addition,
high administrative salaries and expenses can ciphon money away from the charitys
promoted work.
But with the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, no administrative or
promotional costs are taken from the offering. One hundred percent goes to the
missions field.
The promotion of the Georgia Barnette offering is generated primarily by the
Womans Missionary Union. The WMU exists to promote missions, educate Louisiana
Baptists about missions, enlist prayer for missions and promote giving to mission
offerings and the Cooperative Program. Everything this group leads congregations
to do ultimately promotes giving to the offering. Remarkably, this powerful
work is conducted across Louisiana with a tireless, dedicated army of volunteers.
One can honestly say there are virtually no additional personnel costs involved
in handling Georgia Barnette funds.
The administrative services that get Baptist money to the local mission fields
are already in place as part of the Louisiana Baptist Conventions work,
and they easily service the distribution of the mission offering receipts as
elected committees and administrators determine. One can honestly say there
is virtually no additional administrative cost involved in handling Georgia
Barnette funds.
A rigid accounting system makes sure every penny that comes through the Georgia
Barnette State Missions Offering is spent for its intended purpose and that
every penny is accounted for. Checkpoints – including outside professional
audits and reports to grassroots Louisiana Baptist committees – keep a
bright light on all operations to maintain their integrity.
So, if you are moved to give money to the Georgia Barnett State Missions Offering
– as you should be if you have heard or read any of the information about
mission needs in our state – you can give with all the confidence in the
world that your money will be used for the purpose that moved you to give it.
The stateside goal for this years offering is $1,300,000. When one reads
about the vast needs rep-resented by the offering allocations, the goal seems
almost paltry. For instance, there is a $250,000 allocation for “Mission
Church Buildings.” Many single-family houses cost more than that in the
very areas where some of the missions that will receive help are located. On
a statewide basis, the allocation is only a token amount.
God made the human heart so that it can be moved to compassionate action by
the needs of others. Certainly, kindness and generosity are marks of caring
people. One shudders to think where our nation and world would be without humanitarian
and charitable work. Support of these noble causes deserves financial support.
As our hearts are moved by physical and emotional needs of people, certainly
we should be motivated even more by the spiritual lostness and other needs of
people. And this motivation can find no more effective way to reach out to people
in spiritual need than the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering.
If you have not given generously to this years offering, do so. If you
have given, you have touched the lives of many people who are in spiritual need.