2008 is a year that made history. We’ll remember the excitement and spectacle of the summer Olympics as superhuman feats unfolded before our eyes, including that of eight-time gold medalist and over-night sensation Michael Phelps. And deep in our memories are etched the devastating images of flooding in the mid-west and the hurricane damage along the Gulf Coast.
Much of the year focused on an intense campaign, and the election of Sen. Barack Obama as the first African-American president.
But the biggest story of the year was without doubt the economic crisis. The world watched as the housing market crashed and the pantheons of business crumbled. People lost their jobs, their houses, even their retirement investments. No one has gone untouched. This story has set itself into the fabric of our lives like an unwanted stain.
In describing the current outlook, the one characteristic word that economists, politicians and the media can agree on is "uncertain." Whether it’s a recession, depression or something else entirely it may be years before we regain stability and confidence.
In these uncertain times, people are searching for hope. They’re searching for something that lasts longer than a sub-prime mortgage or a 401K. As followers of Christ, we have a hope and a joy that lasts forever, and your community needs the hope of Christ and the outreach of your church more than ever. People need to hear that in God’s economy they are worth far more than what shows up in their bank accounts or financial statements.
We need to be careful in this time of economic recession that we don’t fall into an evangelistic recession. It is a season for Christians to consider re-doubling our work in evangelism and giving to missions.
This year’s Week of Prayer for North American Missions is March 1-8. Its theme, "Live with Urgency: Sowing Together for Harvest," seems appropriate for this time in history. We can’t sit on the sidelines waiting for the economy to improve before we reach people with the gospel. If we wait, many will be lost forever, so we must work together and share with urgency. Whether it’s praying, giving or going—and hopefully all three—we all have a role to play.
The North American Mission Board does not generate income to support the more than 5,600 missionaries serving throughout the United States and Canada. We are totally dependent on the gifts of Southern Baptists. It takes faith to believe God will provide $65 million through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® (AAEO), but we already have seen God perform a miracle in 2008. During a recession and even $4-a-gallon gas prices, Southern Baptists gave $58 million dollars to AAEO.
Last year, Southern Baptists helped plant Iron City Church in Pittsburgh. Bob, an agnostic, discovered a loving God and Savior through the ministry of that church. Melissa Okitkun, a Yupik Eskimo, found a friend in missionary Brenda Crim. Brenda used that friendship to lead Melissa into a relationship with Christ.
Your faithful giving through the Cooperative Program and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering enables missionaries like Lamar Duke in Pennsylvania and Brenda Crim in Alaska to serve God and spread the gospel unfettered by the need to raise their own support. Your prayerful support and financial gifts make it possible for the Bobs and Melissas of the world to hear the gospel.
I pray that we as Southern Baptists will be found faithful and obedient in our giving even in these uncertain times. I pray our faithfulness to the gospel will overshadow the bad news of our day and that the good news of Jesus Christ will be the headliner in 2009.
Carol Pipes, editor cpipes@namb.net