The Open Door: How you can make an impact from Rossville to St. Mary's

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In this file photo, students at the Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Wesleyan College in Macon take part in a Bible study. DANIELLE BURDETTE/Special

I have always believed that if God didn’t call me to serve Him overseas, but He placed my life in Georgia, He placed me here for a reason. I believe that reason is that He needed me to be a missionary to Georgia.

I believe the same is true of you. If God didn’t call you to serve Him in some other nation across the world, but planted your life in Georgia, then by God’s design, you are to serve Him as a missionary to Georgia.

I hope you will join me in being all-in as a servant of Christ in Georgia. This is an amazing state, but it is a state which is mostly lost and needs to know Jesus Christ.

You have the opportunity to make a spiritual impact on your state through supporting the ministry of Georgia Baptists from Rossville to St. Mary’s, from Clayton to Bainbridge. How can you do that?

You can do that through the Mission Georgia Offering. In fact, our theme this year is “Generosity.” I want to encourage you to be generous as you join with other Georgia Baptists in supporting our ministry efforts in Georgia. Some very exciting things are happening in our state and you can have a direct impact on how effective we are at reaching Georgia for Christ.

More than one-third of our Cooperative Program budget is spent on reaching and ministering to young people. That commitment of resources is well-placed as many decisions for Christ are being made by our young people. Last year, over 800 decisions for Christ were made among 9,900 plus attendees through evangelism-focused youth events like Move and SuperWow. At the same time, 4,233 students were regularly involved in Baptist Collegiate Ministries on approximately 50 campuses throughout the state. As a result, there were 255 student salvations and 1,381 total conversions through this ministry last year. A total of 45,403 students were impacted.

Not only do we minister among college students, we call upon them to commit to go on mission as servants of Christ. Through Collegiate Missions, 173 BCM summer missionaries ministered to 36,414 people resulting in 1,190 salvations and 199 calls to full-time missions and ministry. During the 2016 youth MERGE missions camp, 312 students spent 7,488 hours in community projects given to the city of Toccoa. Twenty-two decisions for Christ were made as students came to know Christ and shared Christ with others.

If you want to make a solid investment in reaching people for Christ and in support of those who are going out on mission for Christ, there is no finer way to do that than through the Mission Georgia Offering. I encourage your generosity today as you join other Georgia Baptists to make this a great harvest year for mission work in our state.

Bainbridge, Clayton, Mission Georgia, missions, Rossville, St. Mary's, tithing