Every September, churches across the state of North Carolina pause to reflect on, celebrate and give sacrificially to the North Carolina Missions Offering (NCMO).
The NCMO is an annual offering that provides support for the ministries of Baptists on Mission, also known as N.C. Baptist Men (NCBM), church planting, mission camps, associational projects and mobilization ministry projects.
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Loving God and loving our neighbors means being ‘Known by Love,’ which is the theme for this year’s North Carolina Missions Offering. So what does it mean to be known by love? It involves seeing a need, having compassion and responding in kindness. As we look across our state, nation and world, we see needs everywhere, and relief is costly.
This year’s theme verse is John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” There are many across the state and world who need to not only hear the gospel but also see the gospel through selfless acts of Christ followers. Your church’s gifts to the NCMO go directly to fund this kind of work across the state and world.
The offering goal for 2019 is $2.1 million.
“When people give to the NCMO, it gives us the opportunity to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus to people in need around the world,” said Richard Brunson, NCBM executive director. “When we provide for people’s physical needs, it opens doors for us to meet their spiritual needs as well.”
NCMO supports ministry efforts both here and around the world. Abroad, the offering supports key mission partnerships in countries such as Armenia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Romania and Cuba.
Here in the United States, NCMO supports the many ministries of NCBM, church planting, mission camps, mobilization ministry projects and work through the Baptist associations.
Hurricane Florence struck North Carolina in September 2018, leaving a sea of destruction in its wake. The storm’s heavy rains caused widespread inland flooding across the state as major rivers spilled over their banks.
Baptists on Mission will continue their work in repairing the numerous areas across our state impacted by natural disasters in the months to come. The organization receives much of its funding from the North Carolina Missions Offering, which is received primarily during the month of September. Each year, 41 percent of the NCMO funds are allocated to Baptists on Mission for ministries like disaster relief.
In addition to the NCBM work, the NCMO supports various other ministries that are also focused on reaching the lost. Through NCMO, we are able to work with about 100 new church plants each year within our state. The NCMO is vital to the convention’s church planting efforts, providing approximately one-third of the church planting team’s annual budget. The new churches that were planted in 2018 reported over 7,000 professions of faith and over 6,700 people in attendance. Twenty-eight percent of this year’s offering will go toward planting more churches in North Carolina.
In addition, 10 percent of all NCMO funds are sent to local associations to support various missions and outreach efforts that serve those in need.
Although the NCMO emphasis occurs in September, offerings are received year-round. There are a number of free NCMO resources that pastors may use to promote NCMO in their churches available online at ncmissionsoffering.org/resources.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Will Taylor is a communications specialist with the BSC. This article was originally published at ncbaptist.org.)