This week's newsletter from Steve

I spoke to you a couple of weeks ago about changes being made within the International Mission Board. Within the next few weeks and months, the IMB will be looking for 600–800 people to voluntarily retire or come home for good. While that may not sound like a huge number, the plan is to reduce the number of personnel on the field by nearly 20%. Of the approximately 4800 IMB personnel, this will affect many families, as the goal is about 4000.

Why bring this up again? I want to ask you to pray. As you can probably imagine, this will be a very hard decision for many of these families. Many of these that are praying about coming home are long-term, career missionaries. Some have children that would have to move back to the States, and many are uncertain about what could possibly be next after serving overseas. It is a big decision that many are faced with, and I have heard from several friends that are praying about what to do.

I ask that you pray with our missionaries, as they pray through these decisions. Pray for their families. Pray for a new job and a new place to live if they do decide to come home. Pray that the ministry that they have been doing around the world will continue. Pray for the leadership of the IMB, as they forge ahead with all of these changes. Change needed to happen in order to keep the IMB financially in shape. However, change of this magnitude is always tough.

Lastly, I ask that you would pray about giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering in December. Every dime of that goes directly to work on the mission field. I read a report from one of the missionaries in Europe recently. He said that if every Southern Baptist were to give $45… yes, just $45 to the Lottie Moon offering, the budget shortfall would be more than taken care of. Will you ask the Lord about how you should give this year?