The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has announced that the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, an annual donation intended to support international missions, has reached a record high of $206.8 million.
The SBC International Mission Board stated that this amount was collected for the fiscal year 2024, which spans from October 1, 2023, to September 30.
The Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), an auxiliary of the SBC founded in the 19th century, trademarked the offering and had originally set a goal of raising $200 million for the fiscal year.
Chris Kennedy, the Chief Advancement Officer of the International Mission Board, told The Christian Post that the funds will be used “toward undergirding a missionary’s ministry and presence on the mission field.” He added, “With about 3,600 missionaries at work in more than 100 countries, the Lottie Moon offering covers a vast variety of needs.”
Some of these needs include Bibles and Scripture translation work, training materials for church leaders, digital engagement with online audiences, community services such as medical clinics and water wells, crisis and compassion ministry responses through Send Relief, as well as missionary housing and transportation, and support for children’s education.
Kennedy noted that the funding comes from church offerings and individual donors, with some donations directed towards “specific projects, often referred to as Lottie Moon challenges or Lottie giving projects.”
IMB President Paul Chitwood emphasized that “Southern Baptists have not lost God’s heart for the nations — despite trends such as a decline in church attendance or an apathy toward religion.” He stated, “Every person needs to hear this good news, and we cannot, we must not give up. Southern Baptists’ very DNA is missions, and this year’s record offering totals are evidence that Southern Baptists continue to have a passion for our Great Pursuit of the lost.”
The Christmas offering is named after Lottie Moon (1840-1912), a Baptist missionary to China known for her significant influence on overseas SBC missions. The WMU noted, “While living in China, Lottie wrote letters to the Foreign Mission Board (now the International Mission Board) and Baptist women. She asked for more missionaries and money to grow her work among the Chinese.”
Due to Moon's determination, the WMU collected a Christmas Offering to support the Foreign Mission Board. In 1918, at the suggestion of Annie Armstrong, the WMU named the offering in honor of Lottie Moon. Today, contributions to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering continue to honor her work and sacrifice to keep missionaries active in the field.
