In recent days I have been reminded of your faithfulness, your generosity and your partnership in the gospel. At our annual meeting last month, messengers approved a $28 million Cooperative Program budget for 2022 that will send more dollars to our Great Commission ministry partners than ever before.

I am blown away by the generosity of North Carolina Baptists. It’s amazing to see what God does and how He moves when independent, autonomous local churches come together for the shared mission of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is what it means to be on mission together.

Earlier this fall, we learned that North Carolina once again led all state conventions in giving to both the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering based on the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 at the national level.

During the 2020-2021 fiscal year, N.C. Baptists gave more than $12.8 million to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions and nearly $6.9 million to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions. Every single dollar given to these special offerings goes directly to support missions efforts all around the world through the International Mission Board (IMB) and North American Mission Board (NAMB), respectively.

N.C. Baptist churches have more missionaries on the field than any other state, and your generosity not only keeps them on the field, but it also enables us to send even more missionaries with the life-saving message of Jesus. These gifts also allow us to continue to lead in planting gospel-centered churches all across the United States.

“Please lead your church to pray, give, go and send as an example of being on mission together.” — Todd Unzicker

As you know, churches and individuals join together throughout December to pray for and give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, which supports the work of IMB missionaries serving in 150 countries around the world. N.C. Baptists have led all state conventions in giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for 15 consecutive years, and I’m praying expectantly that we can lead in this effort again in the coming year.

In the Book of Revelation, we see a multitude of worshipers from every tribe, tongue, people and nation around Christ’s throne. Sadly, there are still many people groups who have never heard the name of Jesus, and our Lord has given each of us a role to play in ushering in the reality we see in Revelation.

As IMB president and my friend Paul Chitwood has said, “Our work together is not finished. We have to get to every nation, every tribe, every people. We must share His gospel in every language. The Bible declares it. Heaven reveals it. And obedience demands it.”

We can’t do this work alone. We need one another. The need is great, but so is our great God. Please lead your church to pray, give, go and send as an example of being on mission together.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Learn more and access free promotional resources for this year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering by visiting imb.org/lmco.

With a passion for the local church and the Great Commission, Todd Unzicker’s vision for North Carolina Baptists is focused on rallying them to be a movement of churches on mission together. Unzicker was elected executive director-treasurer in May 2021. Before leading the work of the state convention, Unzicker served on staff at The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham from 2012 to 2021. He has also served as a director of missions in Florida and as a missionary in Central America. Unzicker earned his bachelor’s degree from the Baptist Bible College of Florida and his master of divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological seminary. Prior to his salvation and his call to ministry, Unzicker worked as a sports reporter covering the nationally ranked University of Georgia football program. A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Unzicker has been married to his wife, Ashley, since 2007. They have three children and reside in Wake Forest. View Full Bio