Showing posts with label Missions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missions. Show all posts

Janie Chapman Offering for State Missions

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Tuesday, September 08, 2015 10:28 AM

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Why are we raising money for the Janie Chapman State Mission Offering? I think that is a good question that deserves a little investigation and an answer. Here is my attempt to provide information and challenge all of us to sacrifice for this cause.
The first South Carolina State missions offering was established on November 30, 1899 by the Women’s Missionary Union of South Carolina. The first official offering taken was in September 1900 and raised $235. South Carolina women birthed the offering out of a burden for the advancement of the gospel in the state of South Carolina. The first president of the South Carolina WMU was Janie Weston Chapman, a pastor’s wife. Due to her fervent support of and involvement in missions the state offering was named after her in 1937.
The Janie Chapman offering is a state offering, meaning that the monies given will be used in the sate of South Carolina. The uses of the offering are too many to list but include causes such as disaster relief training, assisting struggling churches, helping pastors who want further training, college outreach ministries, summer internships and missionaries, Christmas gifts to South Carolina missionaries wherever they are serving, gifts to missionary kids attending college, and supporting missions to the department of juvenile justice. For a more complete list and information go to http://www.scwmu.org and click on “Janie Chapman Offering.”
I’ve personally known churches and individuals who’ve benefited from the generosity of this sacrifice. It is an offering that keeps the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ burning when it seems darkest. It is a light we desperately need in South Carolina. Through these monies volunteers are helped and mobilized to serve when they couldn’t have done it on their own. The impact of this offering is felt beyond the borders of our state line. For example, when a volunteer is trained through the help of the Janie Chapman offering in disaster relief, when a hurricane devastates the Gulf States they are sent there with our assistance. While there the volunteer is able to begin building bridges that will lead to gospel conversations.
Our part is $1,200. Just imagine what God could do with that money to advance His kingdom. Let’s all sacrificially give above and beyond our regular giving to meet our goal. I can’t help but believe that the money we give will be used to bring someone to Christ.
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Annie Armstrong Easter Offering

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Monday, March 09, 2015 3:30 PM

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We are at that time of year when our mission’s focus is on the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. But what exactly does this mean? And who was Annie Armstrong? Let me tell you about Annie and then I’ll move our focus to the offering.
Annie Armstrong (1850-1938) was born in Maryland, saved at age nineteen, and helped plant a church at twenty-one. She was instrumental in establishing the Woman’s Missionary Union in 1888. She was the WMU’s first secretary of correspondence. One year she wrote more than 18,000 letters! She was obviously passionate about writing that included writing curriculum for the Sunday School board.
Armstrong was also involved in leading the WMU to raise money for foreign and home missions. While she was serving as secretary (1888-1906) total offerings for the Foreign Mission Board increased 266.27907% ($86,000 to $315,000). This increase is mainly attributed to her passion for missions.
She had a tireless mentality of doing all she could for the glory of God and the advancement of the Kingdom. This commitment was felt throughout the world through missions and the Southern Baptist Convention.
The convention goal this year is $60 million; our part in this is $1,500. 100% of the monies given through the Annie Armstrong Offering will be used for missionary work in the United States and Canada. The funds will be used for church planting, college evangelism, and training the next generation of missionaries through apprenticeships, internships and student missionaries.
Giving to the Annie Armstrong Offering is not a duty, it is a delight. Our giving should reflect a sacrifice beyond our regular giving of tithes and offerings to support Calvary; our sacrifice should reflect the sacrifice of Annie Armstrong. If we truly sacrifice the way God would want us to I wonder if our offering wouldn’t blow the doors off our goal? After all, it’s only a goal.
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Who Is Lottie Moon?

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Sunday, December 15, 2013 3:47 PM

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Who is Lottie Moon? Good question…some reading this may not know who she was and why we are always raising money for her during Christmas.
Is Lottie Moon a creditor, like Sallie Mae or Freddie Mac? Absolutely not!
Lottie Moon was an early missionary to China in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. She spent 40 years in her beloved country with a burden to get the gospel out. She was a deeply burdened, hard-working, Southern Baptist who faithfully labored so her people could know the Jesus who changed her life.
So why is the annual Christmas offering named in her honor?
While she was in China she constantly wrote letters home encouraging a greater awareness of missions, a greater personal involvement in missions, and a greater sacrificial support for missions. These letters caused the Southern Baptist in 1888 to take up a Christmas offering for international missions. That offering was enough to send three missionaries to China.
That was 125 years ago and her letters still speak to us today. As off today the offering named in honor of Lottie Moon has generated more than 3.5 billion dollars.
Where does the money go?
Every penny goes to support 4,800 missionaries. If we reach our corporate goal this year of $175 million then we would be able to send 576 new missionaries to the field. Calvary’s goal is $2,000 and it thrills me to think that the money we give is going to take care of ordinary people sharing God’s extraordinary grace.
Lottie Moon, missionary to China, died on December 24, 1912. She lived an ordinary life of extraordinary grace, sacrificing everything to get the gospel story of redemption out to the lost people of China. But that is not the end of Lottie Moon’s story. Her story is God’s story of redemption that lives on through the ages, and we can be a part of that story as we give sacrificially to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering.
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Looking Back on 2012

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Sunday, January 20, 2013 3:52 PM

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As I sit here on the first day of 2013 I am looking back. It is a good thing to reflect on what God has done over the last year. So many things have happened that I am thankful for as a pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. My heart is filled with joy and gratitude. Here are some of the highlights that came across my mind on this night…

We are in a new building. I am thankful that we made it. I am grateful for God’s faithfulness to His church since its inception in 1923. I will always remember the old buildings on North Church Street that served as a place for God to be glorified and people’s lives to be transformed. I am glad that we aren’t packing and moving, and I’m thankful for the warm water in the bathrooms. Praise the Lord!

God has added 63 new people to His church. These are God’s children from all walks of life and ages. It has been a huge privilege to baptize some of these. Preacher Crocker and I look forward to baptizing a handful more soon. One of the indicators that we are obeying the Great Commission is that people will be getting baptized. It is not our responsibility to get people saved, that’s God’s job, and He is good at it. Our responsibility is to witness and live out the Gospel before the world. Praise the Lord!!

We exceeded the budget, not in spending but in giving. The faithful and sacrificial giving of His children has honored God. This is the first time that I can remember that a church has meet its weekly budget giving needs. We stepped out by faith and God blessed. We needed $5,004.17 each week to meet the 2012 budget; we received $5,572.65 each week. God gets the honor for that – Praise the Lord!!!

We commissioned two mission trips (Tammy Gilbert to Nicaragua and the young people to Blythewood, SC) and commissioned and sent off one to start a church (Ben Linnerud with Awaken Church in Charleston, SC). In 2013 we plan on commissioning Tammy again to Nicaragua, a group to Haiti, and our young people to the West. Praise the Lord!!!!

The student ministry at Calvary Church is off to a good start. VBS was a success, we have an active weekly ministry on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings for them. I thank God for those who serve in the nursery, children’s groups, Kid’s Church, and youth. The kids singing with the choir at Christmas was beautiful. Praise the Lord!!!!!

We need to be a church that is joy filled, Gospel centered, mission minded, God adoring, and servant oriented. We have to begin our missions at home. Spartanburg County must become a place not just where we live, but about whom we are burdened. That will be some of the focus of my preaching this year.

I love being a part of what God is doing here. And we will always be careful to let others know that this is what God has done.

Grace & Peace,
Scott

The Farmers - Missionaries to Cambodia

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011 4:27 PM

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We had another great day worshipping the Lord this past Sunday at Calvary. We had a few visitors and that is always nice. I guess seeing new people means that we are getting the word out about the awesome work that God is still doing in His church. It gives me pause to give thanks to God for calling me to pastor this group of followers, and it gives me hope for the future. We will still be passionately serving the Lord in the years to come!

I want to spend just a few minutes talking about one family that came this past Sunday. I have been in contact with them for almost a year. They are missionaries going to Cambodia. The purpose of their visit was to share with us their biblical vision and godly desire to go to a foreign land with their five precious children. The family I am talking about is the Farmers (Jeremy, Bonnie Ruth, Abby, Isobel, Gloria, Eden and Judson). You learn a lot about a couple's character by watching them as a family, and I can say without hesitation that this is a family of great integrity. Everyone at Calvary thoroughly enjoyed interacting with their well-behaved and fun children. In all, the day spent with the Farmers gave me hope. They were a joy to have with us!

At the evening fellowship and Bible study Jeremy shared his family's vision for not only God's calling on their lives but also how the Church is involved in this great task. He handled the Word well and he wove their mission to Cambodia into the presentation flawlessly. I was both encouraged and challenged at the end of the night. As a family they definitely evidenced the call of God on their lives, and they have the "coupons" to get the job done right.

In the days since I have had a few people approach me about how we can partner with them now! First, we must be praying for them. We can do this most effectively by picking up their prayer card, visiting their website (www.solidjoys.org), and friending them on facebook (Solid Joys - The Farmers in Cambodia). Second, begin praying about supporting them financially. I am praying for wisdom about how as a church we can do this without waiting. Pray with me and I am sure the Lord will show us the way.

Grace & Peace,
Scott

Pray for the Salkehatchie & Honduras Mission Teams

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Sunday, June 13, 2010 3:18 PM

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This week marks the beginning of two mission trips Calvary Church people are taking. By the time you read this, our students will be in Blythewood, SC. During this week long mission trip (June 12-19) they will be helping needy families with rebuilding and repairing their homes. This is the third summer they have taken a week our of their busy schedules to minister through Salkehatchie Summer Service, and each time they have been profoundly touched by God through ministering. The second mission trip is being taken by Tammy Gilbert. Tammy will be going to Honduras June 20-27 with a medical mission team. This team has been going to Honduras for six years now and this marks Tammy's second trip. Whenever I think of missionaries (short and long term) I am reminded of what Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2"

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil me. For not all have faith.

This passage teaches us to pray for two things for our students and Tammy as they go. First, pray for the success of the Word. Pray that as they share God's Word with people that the Holy Spirit would use it and that it would quickly invade their hearts. Pray that people would trust in the Savior as a result of their Christ-like efforts.

Second, pray for the safety of the messengers. Dangers are everywhere and we need to keep our missionaries' safety before God's graceful throne. Pray while they are on the road or in the air; pray while they carry a hammer or a syringe; pray as they travel to their work site or satellite clinic; pray for them in the morning, in the afternoon, when you go to bed, and whenever the Spirit prompts you. Pray! Pray!! Pray!!! Praying is what we can do, while going is what they are doing.

Grace & Peace,
Scott
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