9343.jpg)
- Pastors reminded to honor calling at annual conference
- Conference breakout sessions focus on pastors family, Christian life, leadership & transition
- Love: What the world needs now
- Florida Baptists celebrate evangelism, church planting & church strengthening priorities
- Hughes urges pastors: Go for the ‘big ask’ of members, themselves
- State Board of Missions hears report from past presidents on GCR
- FBSC messengers applaud pastors who have served 60-plus years
- Messengers in Pensacola approve nominees for Florida’s SBOM & agencies
- Florida Focus
- Obituaries
- Latest Stories...
RSS News Feed
RANDY HUCKABEE
Okeechobee
 |
| Click on image for related coverage |
Florida Baptists are like no other Baptist family! We are blessed to serve together in this wonderful state and to have the esteemed leadership team the Lord has bestowed upon us. I came under conviction three weeks ago that we are a generous giving body when it comes to the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong Offerings. We are a “mission minded” fellowship of churches and joyfully give to support our missionaries around the world.
As I began to ponder the question of the Maguire Missions Offering, the Lord said, “It is not just about Florida!” As I looked over the prayer guide, there were not only churches but other cultures and regions being touched by our State Missions Offering.
Maguire State Missions is most definitely not just about what happens in this great state. When you look closely at the distribution of our offering, we are engaged in foreign missions as we support the only five Southern Baptist “missionary leaders” in Haiti! We are leading the way in training pastors in Cuba.We are taking the Gospel into the depths of the Amazon basin in Brazil. The Maguire Mission Offering is foreign missions. This offering is also supportive of home missions as well. Through our generous giving, we will be assisting struggling churches in West Virginia, Indiana and Nevada with pastoral support. These funds will make it possible for men to serve these area churches which are young in their faith and growing in their faithfulness.
Let’s not forget the offering will also be used in Florida for the expanding of our South Florida Ministry Center where we are reaching dozens of ethnic groups who don’t even speak English.
As I thought through all of these wonderful attributes of our State Mission Offering, I challenged our church family to look beyond the state borders and grasp just how big our offering really is! Last year, we, as a church, gave a mere $600 to this wonderful cause. I challenged our family three weeks ago to let’s give at least $1,417.50 to this offering which would have been a 140 percent increase over last year. Over the next two Sundays, our folks have caught the vision and as of this Sunday, we have collected $4,395.95 for Maguire State Missions Offering! This is a 700 percent increase! Once again, I know Florida Baptists are the greatest in the world. When we know of a need, we meet it. I know this is a post script to our offering emphasis, but I do trust that even though the economic times are tough, we have a tremendous opportunity to show just how big our God really is! Let’s make this a banner year statewide for the Maguire Offering!
Randy Huckabee is pastor of First Baptist Church in Okeechobee.