September 16, 2002

EDITORIAL:
Offering taps financial stream to provide Living Water
___Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14)
___Texans--particularly those of us who have lived in farming and ranching communities--understand the importance of water. Water is life. Without water, crops cannot grow. Livestock cannot survive. Communities cannot flourish. People cannot persevere.
___So, Jesus' metaphor about Living Water jumps out at us when we read the Gospel and think about Texas. Instinctively, we understand the vital connection between water and physical life. More significantly, we recognize the absolute need for Living Water--the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ--to sustain spiritual life.
___"Living Water for a Thirsty Land" is the theme for this month's emphasis on the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions. The offering and the theme add another level of meaning to the metaphor. The offering is the bountiful spring that feeds irreplaceable ministries across Texas. This year's goal is $5.21 million, and every cent will be well-spent on leading people to faith in Christ, starting churches and extending the love of Jesus to hurting people.
___Last week, churches across the state conducted an intensive focus and period of prayer for the Mary Hill Davis Offering. This

The Mary Hill Davis Offering feeds the financial stream which nourishes ministries that offer Living Water to thirsty souls.

week is the time for Texas Baptists to pull out our checkbooks and make this offering a success.
___The needs are abundant. Texas is home to 21 million people. The BGCT's 5,800 churches include 2.7 million Texas Baptists who worship in 47 languages. We would not arrogantly presume Baptists are the only Christians in Texas. Nor would we assume Baptists are the only Christians who are engaged in ministry and missions. However, surveys of Texas show that at least half the people who live here claim no affiliation to any church of any kind. That's more than 10 million Texans who have no relationship with the Savior, who are destined to spend eternity apart from God unless someone leads them to Jesus Christ. In addition, any tour of any county or community in the state reveals people Jesus would call "the least of these," in need of basic, life-enriching ministry.
___Here are some of the ministries your contribution to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions will help to provide:
___ New church support, $1.3 million. The most effective tools for reaching people with the gospel are new churches. Last year, we started 201 churches. We need to expand that number to keep pace with population growth, not to mention make progress toward sharing the gospel with every Texan.
___ Rio Grande River Ministry, $420,000. One of the most important enterprises for the future of Texas and Mexico, River Ministry serves on both sides of the border. It trains church leaders, provides medical care, supports evangelism, reaches into communities, cares for orphans, and seeks needs and meets them.
___ Associational support, $360,000. Through this allocation, the BGCT helps underwrite creative ministries in local associations, particularly emphasizing metropolitan areas. A host of excellent ministries would not happen without this funding.
___ Missional church support, $215,000. When Texas Baptists provide these funds, they help Key Churches, congregations whose passion propels them to start churches and begin teaching/preaching ministries. A significant focus is Texas' largest unreached mission field--residents of multihousing units, such as apartments and condominiums.
___ Hispanic Baptist Theological School, $195,000. The Mary Hill Davis Offering provides a significant supplement for this San Antonio school, the most important institution for the future of Texas. If Texas Baptists are serious about reaching Hispanics, who will comprise a majority of the population in less than three decades, HBTS must become the strongest school in the state.
___ Valley Baptist Missions/Education Center, $170,000. This facility in Harlingen can play a significant role in reaching the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Mexico with the gospel.
___ Small-church matching grant fund, $170,000. This allocation provides matching funds of up to $5,000 for construction projects at congregations that are 5 years old and older and have 100 or less in attendance.
___ Partnerships resources, $138,000. Funds provided to the Texas Partnerships Resource Center help support overseas and national volunteer partnership missions projects, which enable Texas Baptists to engage directly in world missions.
___ Texas Woman's Missionary Union, $913,000. Texas WMU does not receive any Cooperative Program funding; its support primarily comes from the Mary Hill Davis Offering. In return, Texas WMU promotes the Cooperative Program and the missions offering, provides advanced and basic training, leads in missions involvement and supports missions education/missions action programs in Texas churches.
___ Thirty-five other ministries, from support for human needs, to ministry in various languages, to camp ministries, to victim relief and restorative justice ministries.
___The Mary Hill Davis Offering feeds the financial stream which nourishes ministries that offer Living Water to thirsty souls. And make no mistake: The Baptist General Convention of Texas is the only supporter of this offering and the only provider of these ministries.
___Your decision to support his offering will have eternal consequences.
___

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend

___--Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook