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FIRST-PERSON: Yes, 2020 had COVID, but look what Southern Baptists did

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NASHVILLE (BP) – While COVID-19 continues to reshape and affect everything across America and the world in 2020, I want to share a few wonderful things God has done through our work together as Southern Baptists despite a global pandemic.

In our fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2020, Southern Baptists gave:

When you add that up, it means more than $675,873,000 has been given by our churches to our Great Commission missions and ministries during this year of uncertainty. Beyond this amount, millions of dollars have also been given to other Southern Baptist needs beyond these three major financial priorities.

Even in the midst of this global pandemic year, we have appointed 416 new missionaries to take the Gospel to the nations.

Southern Baptists have the third largest disaster relief organization in America, following only the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Through the ministries of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief:

Send Relief is a partnership between the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board that inspires, equips and trains people to meet physical needs on the ground in dozens of countries, sharing the hope of the Gospel across the world. Send Relief is about meeting needs and changing lives. For example, in 2020:

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While facing extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances, our six Southern Baptist seminaries were able to prepare and equip:

In addition, Mission:Dignity, a ministry of GuideStone Financial Resources that assists retired Southern Baptist ministers or their widows, is on track to set a record for fund-raising, having raised more than $1 million on Mission:Dignity Sunday and almost $900,000 on the nationwide #GivingTuesday emphasis.

This is not a comprehensive list of all we were able to do together as Southern Baptists. Each of our national entities, 42 state conventions and 1,200-plus associations can tell their own story of all God has done through our work together despite this COVID-19 global pandemic.

Everything we do is only possible because of the work God is doing through our Southern Baptist churches across this nation. If each of our 51,000 churches and congregations could tell their own story, we would hear thousands of stories that would astound us and greatly increase our faith in God.

Be encouraged: God has done so many things this year and He is preparing each of us for even greater things in the year to come.

Great is God’s faithfulness to each of us and our churches. Each day, remember these words:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Now is the time to lead.