June 25, 2001

Texas Baptists led the way in $113 million Lottie offering
___RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Southern Baptists gave more than $113 million for the cause of international missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in 2000.
___Those gifts fell $2 million short of the offering goal but still pushed the offering's 113-year cumulative total past the $2 billion mark.
___Gifts from Texas Baptists led the way, accounting for $17.37 million or 15 percent of the total offering.
___The majority of those Texas gifts were sent through the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which forwarded $13,432,800 to the Lottie Moon Offering from affiliated churches between June 2000 and May 2001.
___Gifts from Texas Baptists increased 12 percent over the previous year, the seventh-largest percentage increase of any state in the nation. The $1.85 million increase from Texas Baptists was the largest dollar increase from any state.
___"This generous offering will meet critical needs overseas," said Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board. "It means being able to keep pressing forward with the unprecedented opportunities to reach a lost world and continue to appoint record numbers of new missionaries.
___"We rejoice in God's faithfulness through Southern Baptists to give so sacrificially to the support of our missionaries and their work around the world."
___The $113 million offering is a 7.3 percent increase over last year's total of more than $105 million. The growth also represents the second-largest dollar increase since the offering's inception in 1888.
___Much of the credit for this year's offering belongs to Woman's Missionary Union, said David Steverson, IMB vice president for finance and treasurer.
___"Woman's Missionary Union takes a primary role in promotion of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering," he said.
___"We are grateful for them and the leadership they provide in calling Southern Baptists to reach a lost world through sacrificial giving."
___The annual international missions offering is far more than just a way to raise money, said WMU Executive Director/Treasurer Wanda Lee.
___"At the heart of WMU is our support for missionaries here at home and around the world," Lee said. "We are grateful for the increase in gifts this past year to the offering and commend the churches for their selfless giving.
___At least $111 million of the offering will go toward the IMB's overseas operating budget, while the remaining $2 million will fund the overseas capital budget.
___The entire amount will be used exclusively for missionaries and their ministries, Steverson said. "None of it is spent for stateside administration or promotion."
___The goal for the 2000 offering was $115 million. The IMB counts on the entire goal when projecting the budget each year.
___"Since we did not reach our goal, there will be many other needs that will go unmet," said Senior Vice President Avery Willis.
___This year, WMU and the IMB have set a $120 million goal for the offering.
___"As we anticipate the next offering, I am hopeful we can measure our gifts not in comparison to the year before, but relative to what is needed to fulfill the Great Commission," Rankin said.

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