On Sunday, we celebrated our Global Ministries Offering Sunday. It is our annual offering above and beyond our general fund giving, where we support ministries locally, nationally, and globally. Through this offering, we are able to do more with others than we are able to do by ourselves.
The GMO enables us to feed the hungry, provide relief to the hurting, and to break the cycle of poverty. We join hands with other churches as we empower missionaries, or field personnel, serving the least of these around the world. Our gifts welcome the stranger and offer compassion to the prisoner. We are able to support ministers in seminary and religious liberty for all people.
Taking a thirty thousand view of Auburn FBC, we see how missions is woven into every aspect of our congregation. Our Sunday School classes, youth group, children’s ministry, and college students are invested in missions. We give to missions through our general fund. We have trust funds dedicated to missions and plan specific projects throughout the year.
Our Global Ministries Offering allows us to come together as an entire congregation with the widest net of care and concern. It draws us closer to one another, as we reach out to others. It not only expresses our calling, but also is a celebration! We celebrate the shared effort and generous spirit of our congregation.
It is like walking onto a Habitat for Humanity site. Everyone is swinging a hammer and carrying building materials towards a common effort. One worker asks to borrow a measuring tape from another. Someone is asked to bring more nails as another’s supply gets low. The frame of the house begins to take shape, as a family dreams of a new beginning. It is the sweat and joy of grace!
Once the house is finished and everyone gathers in front of it for a group picture, it is evident that something binds everyone together. It is the care and concern for others! It enriches our lives and creates community. We celebrate this experience in our Global Ministries Offering!
-Tripp