On Sunday, March 15, we will gather around our Global Ministries Offering, which is our annual special offering in addition to our general budget, supporting local and global ministries. The congregation approved this offering at its recent business meeting, and through this offering we are able to partner with others in order to address needs we cannot normally reach by ourselves.
In reading about the GMO for this year, we find ministries within Auburn as well as traversing oceans. Through this offering, we support local ministry through the AFBC Jail Ministry and Brotherhood projects, along with the Community Market, feeding the hungry; the WeHelp Coalition, working alongside Habitat for Humanity; and the Christian Women’s Job Corp, supporting individuals making significant changes in their lives.
Our partnerships do not stop at the boundaries of Auburn, though, reaching throughout Alabama and beyond. We partner with Sowing Seeds of Hope, relieving suffering in Perry County; Alabama Possible, supporting initiatives that address poverty statewide; and the Community Care network, caring for people with health concerns. We also support missions throughout this country with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, serving various needs in many places; the Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief Team, responding to all sorts of crises; and the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, educating future ministers.
Finally, our partnerships reach beyond all geographical boundaries, supporting Project Hope and the Brazil Mission Team from AFBC, which has been working for over two decades; Watering Malawi, creating clean water projects in Africa; and World Hunger, feeding people in a multitude of countries. We also partner with the Baptist World Alliance, including Baptists from all around the world, on needs like disaster relief, church planting, and poverty. Our partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship also supports field personnel, or missionaries, around the world, as the hands and feet of Christ.
If we read through the GMO, we find all of this on one list, which cannot begin tell the full story of everything that happens through this offering. As a church, we are grateful for this opportunity, combining both compassion and stewardship. As we give to this offering, we also remain aware of giving to our general budget. We continue to have the opportunity to maximize our gifts, while minimizing our expenses, before we hire two new staff members, which we will celebrate when they arrive.
For the opportunities in front of us, sharing in both compassion and stewardship with one another, we are thankful; and we continue to be deeply thankful for the commitment and generosity of the congregation in a multitude of ways.
~Tripp Martin