INOLA, Okla. – First Baptist Church of Inola has faithfully supported missions for years. But in 2025, that support turned out to be historic.
After establishing a $60,000 goal for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, FBC Inola surpassed the mark by collecting almost $88,000. Much of the effort comes from the church’s lively auction, as well as from prayer-driven fellowship and from members knowing they are the home church of current International Mission Board missionaries serving in South Asia.
Pastor Justin Sampler explained the heartbeat behind the success.
“When you learn how Southern Baptists came together in 1925 to form the Cooperative Program, you understand we can do more together than we can individually,” he said. “That’s been a gamechanger for us.”
Every November, FBC Inola’s auction launches its Lottie Moon season. On Nov. 9 last year, the Inola community, about 30 minutes east of Tulsa, gathered in the church gym, tables laden with prized items such as DeWalt drills, hand-sewn quilts and homemade desserts.
One remarkable donation to the auction was two African safari hunts. A pilot auctioned a private flight for four to the Tulsa area and dinner at a high-end restaurant.
Three church members Sampler heralded are Jessi Johnson, who provided a Thanksgiving-style meal during the auction, and Chrys Themm and Amy Gilmore who organized the event. “We have several volunteers who serve in many ways during the auction,” he said.
In the past, the auction raised $15-20,000 a year, but generosity exploded last year, and the church collected $40,000.
“The auction is a great start, but we never reach the goal that night,” Sampler said. “For the rest of November and December we keep the momentum. We show videos that promote international mission work and collect offerings in each Sunday service. We also feature personal testimonies that remind everyone the money goes straight to our missionaries.”
Sampler added that the church’s generosity reflects a deeper commitment. “If we had to choose between fixing our aging parking lot, worn-out carpet or funding missions, we’d pick missions every time,” he said. “Even with a major sewer line replacement on the horizon, no way should that take away from our missions giving.”
The impact is tangible. One local woman, raised Roman Catholic, moved to Inola and discovered the church from an online search. Through a women’s Bible study, she grew in faith, went on her first mission trip last year and now plans to go on another.
The church’s missionary pipeline is robust. Teams from the church have served in Nepal, India and Mexico. Sampler envisions the possibility of starting a new partnership with the family the church sent to South Asia.
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