VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 8/16/13)—Embrace the Cause, the theme for the 2013 International Ministries (IM) annual World Mission Offering (WMO), is based on Genesis 12:3b. In this Old Testament story, God called Abram and Sarai out of their country with the promise that “All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
“Just as God called this couple and called Adoniram and Ann Judson 200 years ago – so the Holy Spirit is now calling us to step out in faith to be agents of God’s blessing to all the families of the earth by sharing the life-changing good news of Jesus Christ,” commented Reid Trulson, IM executive director.
This year’s WMO resources celebrate the first commissioned American Baptist missionaries, Adoniram and Ann Judson, and the 200th anniversary of their arrival on the shore of Burma (now called Myanmar) in southeast Asia. As a result of the faithful work of the Judsons, and so many others since, Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, now includes 1.7 million Christians.
The WMO educational materials based on this Embrace the Cause theme were mailed to churches on July 20. Videos and print materials may be downloaded at www.worldmissionoffering.org. To order additional materials, call 1-800-4JUDSON. The new historical DVD: Adoniram Judson: The Man and the Mission, was mailed to churches with the WMO materials. Additional DVDs are available by special order ($19.95 plus s/h) by calling 1-800-4JUDSON and requesting item #i393.
The World Mission Offering is a vital source of support for the full scope of the Lord’s work in global mission through IM. WMO provides the primary resources enabling IM to recruit and train new mission workers (15 new workers in 2013), develop new global ministries and partnerships, oversee and evaluate existing ministries and support current IM mission personnel. Much of the current work of global mission through IM could not continue nor could new ministries grow without generous contributions to the WMO. Individuals and churches may give to the WMO year-round.
The 2013 WMO resource materials include a full-color missionary map, bulletin inserts, pew envelopes, a Leader’s Guide and, for the first time, the 2013 Mission Study Guide featuring contemporary women in ministry in Myanmar. The WMO video features contemporary Baptist ministries in Myanmar and among people from Myanmar newly in the U.S. These educational materials can be used in worship services, Sunday school classes, adult and youth groups and Bible studies.
For more information, contact Catherine Nold: catherine.nold@abc-usa.org.
American Baptist International Ministries is a Christian mission organization connecting U.S. churches and individuals to holistic ministries around the world. Organized in 1814, IM is the first Baptist mission agency formed in North America. It serves more than 1,800 short- and long-term missionaries annually, bringing U.S. and Puerto Rico churches together with partners in over 70 countries to share the good news of Jesus Christ in word and action.
American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.