COVINGTON, Ga. (BP) – Churches around North America recognized Global Hunger Sunday on Aug. 27, and many more will take the opportunity to encourage their congregations to support Global Hunger Relief throughout the remainder of the year.

Global Hunger Relief is a fund administered by Send Relief, the global compassion ministry arm of Southern Baptists.

“We are facing perhaps the greatest challenge around the world in hunger relief for two reasons,” said Send Relief president Bryant Wright while preaching Sunday, Aug. 27, at First Baptist Church, Covington. “There have been tremendous famines in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and on top of that the Ukrainian war – knowing that Ukraine and Russia produce so much of the world’s wheat – it has accentuated the problem in regions of the world where that is a basic necessity for living and for food. So, the need is great.”

Cody McNutt, pastor of FBC Covington, led his church to give to a special offering to support the work of Send Relief in combatting the ongoing global hunger crisis facing millions of people around the world.

“Since 1823, First Baptist Covington has been a missions-minded church that has supported church planting, mercy ministries, disaster relief and foreign missions,” said McNutt in written comments following Global Hunger Sunday. “As we celebrate 200 years, we desire to stay involved in what God is doing locally, nationally, and globally.”

The passion of FBC Covington is felt by numerous churches, as Southern Baptists collected $3.5 million for Global Hunger Relief throughout the year in 2022. Offerings to Send Relief in general and Global Hunger Relief in particular, go directly to support hunger and other compassion ministry projects around the world.

Wright also consistently keeps the proclamation of the Gospel as the central tenet that sets Send Relief apart from secular humanitarian organizations.

“One of the things I continue to seek to remind our staff at Send Relief,” Wright said to the FBC Covington congregation. “We can help hungry people feel better on their journey to hell and still miss their greatest need, which is salvation and eternal life through Christ.”

The North American Mission Board (NAMB) and International Mission Board (IMB) work together to meet needs and change lives around the world through Send Relief.

“We are excited about the partnership between the IMB and NAMB through Send Relief and its strategic areas of focus,” McNutt said. “It was an honor to host Bryant Wright and support Send Relief’s efforts on Global Hunger Sunday. We hope other churches will continue supporting the Cooperative Program, our SBC entities, and these special initiatives throughout the year.”

While Global Hunger Sunday 2023 has come and gone, churches can still financially support the work of Global Hunger Relief by using Send Relief’s promotional resources to host offerings or by encouraging their people to give directly online.

Those funds will be used to support hunger-related compassion ministry projects around the world.

“With all those distributions,” Wright said, “the Gospel is always shared to meet the deepest need in people’s lives.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Brandon Elrod writes for the North American Mission Board.)