Lottie Moon Offering Record

                                                                                                                    Vol. XII, No. 6, June/July 1999

Southern Baptists collected their largest-ever offering for missions during the 1998 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions. When the books closed May 31, total receipts for the offering were $101,713,066.69, a sixth year of record receipts. The 1998 offering is an increase of more than $1.6 million over 1997. Every dollar received through the offering goes to support the board's mission work overseas.

Also, the 885 new missionaries sent overseas in 1998 represented a 33.4 percent increase over 1997 -- more than double the highest net growth of any previous year in the Southern Baptist International Mission Board's 154-year history.

The 333,034 new believers baptized in 1998 marked a 13.1 percent increase over 1997's total. The year also saw 4,223 new churches, a 25.4 percent increase over 1997, and 31,567 new preaching points (potential future churches), a 41.7 percent jump.

A goal of $125 million for the 1999 offering is well within sight Rankin believes. "We are confident our churches will redouble their efforts to reach the $125 million goal in 1999 in order to enter the new millennium with the resources needed to make a global impact." [BP]