The year 2020 has been a year like no other in our lifetime. Events of this year have left many people hurting in numerous ways. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be compelled by the love He demonstrated for us through His death on the cross to love others, serve them and point them to Christ.

“Compelled by Love” is the theme for this year’s North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO) and is based upon 2 Corinthians 5:14, which says “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died” (HCSB).

The North Carolina Missions Offering supports a variety of ministries that declares and displays the gospel by sharing the love of Jesus in word and deed. This year’s offering goal is $2.1 million. The offering is allocated by percentage to Baptists on Mission (41%), church planting (28%), mission camps (15%), associational projects (10%) and mobilization ministry projects (6%).

One of the most visible ministries that the NCMO supports is disaster relief, which is one of the 19 different ministries of Baptists on Mission, which is also known as N.C Baptist Men. COVID-19 has been a different type of disaster, but Baptists on Mission is still responding.

As part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Baptists on Mission has provided thousands of pounds of fresh produce to needy families each week during the pandemic as part of the USDA’s “Farmers to Families” food box program. This is in addition to continuing to help many in eastern North Carolina who are still recovering from devastating and historic hurricanes that have struck our state in recent years.

The NCMO also goes a long way toward impacting lostness by helping establish new churches across North Carolina. Since 2009, the BSCNC has worked with more than 1,100 new churches across the state. Many of these new churches are reaching people from different nationalities and ethnicities, allowing them to hear the gospel and worship in their own heart language. Thousands of people are coming to know Christ each year through these church plants.

Getting North Carolina Baptists personally involved in missions is one of the primary goals of the NCMO. Gifts to the offering help fund mission camps in Shelby and Red Springs that offer church groups the opportunity to engage in local missions projects. Additionally, the NCMO allows N.C. Baptists to participate in short-term mission trips in the United States and around the world through several national and international partnerships.

Plus, NCMO helps support a variety of outreach and missions activities right here in North Carolina through partnerships with our local Baptist associations.

To learn more about the North Carolina Missions Offering, visit ncmissionsoffering.org. There you will find a number of testimonies, prayer points and other resources for you and your church to promote this special offering. This offering is typically emphasized in September, but contributions are accepted throughout the year.

Thank you for your prayers and gifts as we seek to once again meet our offering goal of $2.1 million. I am grateful for what you do in your generous and faithful support of this special offering. Even amid challenging times, be encouraged that God is at work. May we be motivated and compelled by love to join Him in His mission.

“For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died.” — 2 Corinthians 5:14 (HCSB)