[1]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–With many churches already planning to hold special events around Sunday’s Super Bowl game, Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has issued a call for churches to add an emphasis on Haiti and the World Hunger Fund.
Land said it was the perfect time for groups holding parties and fellowships in conjunction with the championship game to collect cash donations for Haiti through the SBC’s World Hunger Fund as well as to support local feeding ministries with donations of canned goods.
“This natural disaster in Haiti serves to remind us that there are people around the world, including in our country, that are severely impoverished and are literally starving to death,” Land said to Baptist Press.
Emphasizing the biblical instruction to care for the poor and downtrodden, he added that “it is incumbent upon us as followers of Christ to provide aid and comfort to those who are suffering.”
Land offered that the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund is the best vehicle for Southern Baptists and like-minded evangelicals to have a part in feeding people around the world.
“Every contributor can donate with the confidence that 100 cents of every dollar received will be used in the field to help men and women and boys and girls,” Land said.
[2]“Moreover,” he added, “as Southern Baptist missionaries use these gifts to distribute food and teach innovative agricultural techniques to those in need, they are dedicated to sharing Christ’s love as embodied in the Gospel.
“It is my hope and my prayer that Southern Baptists — young and old — will come together in giving to the World Hunger Fund to help the people of Haiti and to demonstrate to a watching world that ours is not an empty faith.”
Land’s initiative follows SBC President Johnny Hunt’s call for generous compassion by Southern Baptists for the people of Haiti (Hunt is pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga.) and the call by John Sullivan, executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention, for Feb. 14 to be a day of prayer for Haiti.
According to the World Hunger Fund website, www.worldhungerfund.com, individuals can forward contributions through a local Southern Baptist church (www.sbc.net/churchsearch) by designating the amount for the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Gifts also can be sent directly through the respective state Baptist convention, the North American Mission Board (namb.net) or the International Mission Board (imb.org).
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Compiled by Will Hall, Baptist Press executive editor. Visit http://worldhungerfund.com/ [3] to find free resources and to learn more about the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund work in Haiti and how you and your church can contribute.