RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- "Extremely grateful." That's what IMB President Tom Elliff is saying about Southern Baptists' gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, which reached $146.8 million last year -- the fourth-highest total in the offering's 123-year history.

"I think that when people look at these statistics, Southern Baptists have every reason to rejoice. And it ought to be a sign that we could certainly accomplish much, much more if more was given." -- Tom Elliff

"These are the greatest days of opportunity ever faced by the Christian church in its 2,000-year history," Elliff said. "That opportunity comes because hearts across the world are plowed up by need -- physical need, emotional need, social need. God is at work stirring hearts; He is changing lives. It would be a tragedy if we did not effectively take the seed of the Gospel and sow that seed into the furrows of troubled hearts all over the world -- hearts that would eagerly embrace the Gospel if they could only hear it.

"That's why I'm extremely grateful for Southern Baptists' faithful giving and praying to undergird the thousands of missionaries they've sent from their churches, through IMB, to the farthest corners of the earth. And all for a single, eternal purpose -- making disciples in the name of Jesus."

When the first Lottie Moon offering was collected in 1888 (though it was not yet known by that name), the $3,315 raised by Southern Baptist churches was enough to send three more single female missionaries to help Moon in China. The 2011 Lottie Moon offering totaled $146,828,116.05. Today, in conjunction with the Cooperative Program, it helps support a network of nearly 5,000 Southern Baptist missionaries serving around the globe, providing salaries, housing, medical care and children's education. The cost averages about $49,800 per year for each missionary.

"Missions offerings represent one of the unique aspects in Southern Baptist life," said Wanda Lee, executive director/treasurer of Woman's Missionary Union (WMU). "As a former missionary, it was a great comfort to my husband and me knowing we could truly focus on the ministry God had called us to without concern about financially supporting our family. As Southern Baptists, it is our collective responsibility and privilege to remember those who have committed their lives to following the Great Commission so that the Gospel may be proclaimed among all people." Read More