NATIONWIDE (BP) — How does giving to missions bless a local church? Pastors say their churches benefit from giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO) in many ways.

Lance Logue is pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Redmond, Ore., where about 720 people attend weekly.

“We believe that giving is an act of worship, and it plays a vital role in discipleship,” Logue told Baptist Press (BP).

“Generous giving challenges our members to grow spiritually, deepen their trust in God and align their hearts with His mission. Supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering reminds our church of our broader role in God’s kingdom work and unites us in purpose as we invest in eternal impact.”

Those same sentiments ring true to Alaska.

“First and foremost, we truly believe that it is more blessed to give than to receive,” Philip Coleman told Baptist Press. He’s the pastor of True North Church in Anchorage, Alaska.

“As a relatively young church in a frontier state with a highly transient population, we have received in ways that could not have happened without the mercy and grace of God. How much more will we find ourselves in God’s will, blessed, than if we choose to give?

“We benefit by joining in the work that Jesus is doing all over the world as the gospel goes forth and the dead are made alive in Him,” Coleman continued. “What could be better than that?”

About 195 people attend Hope Church in Sandy, Utah, a mission field all its own. Teaching Pastor Ben Heile says the challenge to reach their community fuels their understanding of the need far away.

“Ten years ago, a group of families moved to Utah to plant Hope Church because we were convinced Utah needed church plants where less than 2% of the population is Evangelical Christian,” Heile said.  

“These missional families make up the core of Hope Church. They sacrifice their careers, their time, their money and their extended families to see disciples made and churches planted in Utah,” the teaching pastor continued. “So, there is an understanding of the great need for the gospel in the ‘less than 2%’ contexts overseas as well, making giving to Lottie a part of our DNA.

“Our leadership, core team and missional families sacrifice to see the gospel spread here in Utah and around the world,” Heile said.

“We can closely identify with our missionaries ‘suffering the same things around the world’ — 1 Peter 5:9 — and so it gives us great joy to give to Lottie and know we will celebrate together what God is doing for an eternity.”

About 100 people attended Southtown Baptist Church in Bloomington, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb, in 2023. Chris Reinertson had been pastor there for 10 years, long enough to see church membership evolve from “long-time Southern Baptists who relocated to Minnesota, knowing about Lottie Moon,” to “people from all over the world who were not familiar with Southern Baptists and have since joined our church and vision for reaching the lost locally, nationally and internationally.”

Despite the transition, Southtown prioritizes giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

“Jesus said, ‘Where your treasure is, that is where your heart is,’” the pastor said. “This shows that our people care about what Jesus cares about; people who are outside of His kingdom.

“I also think our people seek to give to Lottie Moon after they have given to our church,” Reinertson continued. “This shows that our people are becoming more and more like Jesus. We are becoming more and more generous.”

In the Big Sky Country of Montana, Darryl Brunson of Expedition Church in Livingston told Baptist Press, “We just put Lottie Moon into our budget from the beginning. We also have the Cooperative Program and Annie Armstrong as regular monthly giving.

“During the Christmas season I always talk about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and encourage giving towards it,” the pastor continued.

“I believe Jesus is honored through generosity. Generosity, like hospitality and hard work — two of our other core values — are contagious. When the leaders personally, and the church corporately, model those values, it spreads throughout those that view it and benefit from it.”

Mindful giving abounds in New England as well.

At FaithBridge Baptist Church in Manchester, New Hampshire, Pastor Rich Clegg told BP, “We encourage people to be as thoughtful and prayerful about their missions giving as they are their other gift giving at Christmas.

“Giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions benefits the church by us knowing we have a part to play in seeing the gospel go to the nations.”

Information and resources for the Lottie Moon Christmas offering are at IMB.org/LMCO.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.)