- Baptist Press - https://www.baptistpress.com -

Church’s gifts honor retired missionary

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (BP)–The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering has a special meaning for Earlewood Baptist Church in Columbia, S.C., as their gifts pay tribute to the memory of retired missionary and Earlewood member Sara Frances Taylor.

Taylor, who had served in Argentina for more than four decades, died Nov. 10, 2007, in Columbia, S.C., at age 89. She had made arrangements that, upon her death, memorials be given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

“She was small in stature but a giant example of faith in the Lord Jesus,” said William Robertson, senior pastor of Earlewood Baptist. “She was revered and respected by every member of our church and community.

“Sara was very humble in her manner … and was dedicated to telling others about our Lord,” he said.

She became an active member of the church after returning to the States in 1996. Taylor had served as a missionary in Argentina for 43 years, then as a volunteer for the Baptist Home for the Aged there for eight years after her retirement.

Taylor told fellow members of Earlewood Baptist that she was not retired, she just had a new mission — intercessory prayer. She was part of the church’s Woman’s Missionary Union and was a guest speaker to churches in Columbia about missions and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

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Today, more than 5,300 IMB missionaries worldwide depend on Southern Baptists’ giving through the Cooperative Program and to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This year’s national Lottie Moon offering goal is $165 million.
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Marie Travis is a writer for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. In addition to giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering through Southern Baptist churches, gifts can be made at www.imb.org/main/give and click Lottie Moon Christmas Offering under the Give Now menu box.