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GRAPEVINE The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has received a significant portion of the $2.6 million World Missions Offering collected by Houston’s First Baptist Church through April this year. The offering greatly surpassed the 2021 goal of $1.4 million.
During the Easter service of the church, the ingathering day for the offering, Pastor Gregg Matte said, “We felt if everyone got involved, the amount would take care of itself. I preached it, and we emphasized that we needed 100 percent commitment,” as reported in Baptist Press earlier this year. Matte went on to tell of hundreds of dollars in coins gathered by young children in the church.
The church gave, through the SBTC:
$1.1 million to the Lottie Moon Offering for World Missions, which the convention will pass along to the SBC International Mission Board;
$400,000 to the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions, which the convention passes 100 percent to the SBC North American Mission Board; and
$125,000 to the SBTC Reach Texas Offering, which funds church planting, children’s services, disaster relief and church revitalization in Texas.
According to Baptist Press, an additional $700,000 of the receipts would be used to fund missionary outreach in Houston by the church, and the remainder was under consideration by church leadership.
SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick said of the offerings, “Houston’s First is a consistent leader in missions giving, Cooperative Program and in reaching their neighbors with the gospel. We are grateful for their partnership and the example they set for churches across the SBC.”
