An offering that keeps on going ...

by Bill Crews, NWBC Executive Director

     The catchy ad for the Energizer Battery is that “it keeps on going and going and going.” The annual Northwest mission offering, that we have named the Sylvia Wilson Mission Offering, is an offering that keeps going and going and going.
     When our convention was 1 year old, we received our first Northwest Mission Offering. The amount received in 1949 was $844. Every year since then, the amount of the offering has continued to grow and its effectiveness has increased. The largest amount received was in 2007 when $148,057 was given by the churches of the Northwest Baptist Convention.
     The 2010 goal adopted by the convention anticipates $120,000. Some may ask, “What’s the significance of that amount to a budget of $5,850,000?” This year’s offering, which will be utilized in the 2011 NWBC budget, is designated for two primary areas of ministry: 50 percent for church planting and 50 percent for leadership development.
     Let’s talk about church planting for a moment. Our convention’s goal is a net gain of 35 new churches added to our fellowship in 2011. That is an 8 percent net increase in the number of churches participating in our network of churches.
     If God were to honor our desire for an 8 percent increase in 2011 and a similar increase for the next 10 years, in 2020 there would be 969 churches affiliated with our convention. For that to happen, we will need to be passionate about and committed to planting many new churches across the Northwest.
     To plant those churches, available resources must be discovered and utilized. That’s where the SWMO makes a significant impact. Because of our partnership with the North American Mission Board, the Sylvia Wilson offering can be used to access NAMB funds.
     For instance: because of the 87-13 percent NAMB formula, the $60,000 to be received in 2010 (50 percent of the SWMO goal) could be used to provide $461,538 in church planting resources to be utilized here in the Northwest. This literally means that the $60,000 received from the offering is the equivalent of $461,538.
     This is a wonderful investment, made possible through the partnership with the North American Mission Board. The North American Mission Board funding comes from Cooperative Program gifts received from the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention.
     The other half of the SWMO will be used to provide leadership training for Northwest Baptist leaders, pastors and other church leaders. Some of these funds are also used to match NAMB funds.
     All of this is to say, the SWMO is extremely strategic to kingdom work here in the Northwest. I encourage you to read the SWMO materials provided to your church.
     The Northwest Impact Week of Prayer sponsored by the SWMO is September 12-19. A prayer guide provides an emphasis for every day of this special week and highlights the four major objectives for 2011: Spiritual Vitality, Church Planting, Evangelism and Church Health and Leadership Development.
     The specific goals growing out of these objectives were developed by the Regional Ministry Teams in the field and came from their visits and contacts with the church leaders in the regions.
     Join me in praying about making a significant gift to the 2010 Sylvia Wilson Mission Offering. It is one gift that will keep going and going and going.