Results of Chili Cookoff

AUGUST MOODY will reign as “Champion Chili Chef” for the next year. I’ll not mention how my entry fared; let’s just say I wasn’t mentioned in the top 3.

Our judges were Ronnie, Joseph, and Greg from the fire department. I had not met them before Wednesday and I guess I should have introduced myself as “number 5.” Maybe that would have given me a boost in the judging!

But I took my crock pot home EMPTY! That makes me feel good.

What makes me feel even better is that the event is a fund raiser for the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Our church gave over $4,000 last year at the urging of the former pastor, John Savage. John passed away just a few days after making the challenge to reach $4,000 for the offering. The church honored him and our Lord by meeting the challenge. This year the goal is $4,000 and I think we’ll make it. We are off to a good start and the Chili Cookoff is part of the reason.

I want you to pray about your support of the offering. God will lead you to give what is appropriate for you, so just ask him. Here are some tips to help you for this year and next year.

1. Save your pocket change and give it to the three missions offerings: Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions (March/April), Dixie Jackson Offering for Arkansas Missions (September), and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions (December). I have a plastic icing container I use and I put all my dimes in it. I call it my "Don't Spend a Dime" jar.
2. Add $10, $20, or $50 to your tithe check for each week of the month in which the offering is collected. You’ll be able to give more without depleting your checking account. This is especially handy for the Christmas offering when you are trying to spread your money around for other things, too.
3. Ask everyone in your household to contribute. Each person can do this individually or you can pool your money and present one “family” offering. This will help you teach your children the importance of giving back to God from what you receive and the importance of missions.
4. Have a yard sale and give the proceeds to the missions offerings. You may even have a neighbor donate money for the offering without making a purchase just to support you and the church. And you can tell all your shoppers what you are doing; this would be a good way to open the door for witnessing to them.
5. If you are an avid soft drink fan, try going 30 days without purchasing the 12-ounce can or 20-ounce bottle each day. Give the money you save to missions instead. If soft drinks are your "vice," then suspend buying your "vice" and give the money to missions.

The Southern Baptist Convention has a powerful tool for financing mission work around the world. It’s called the Cooperative Program. Our church currently gives 7% of all undesignated receipts to CP. Out of every dollar you give, 7 cents goes to CP. Some of the money stays in Arkansas for missions at home. The rest of it goes to SBC entities that serve Southern Baptists and the world in many ways. The three missions offerings supplement the budgets of the missions organizations. In fact, according to Garry Looney, about 50% of the International Mission Board’s budget is met through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. When you give, you are helping missionaries reach people for Jesus.

I like what our state director Emil Turner says: we do what we do so that “more people will go to Heaven and fewer people will go to Hell.”

IMPACTING ETERNITY AT THE CROSS ROAD OF LIFE