The April 5, 2007 issue of the Religious Herald, Newsjournal for the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV), reported the top 100 churches in per capita missions giving in 2006. Jefferson Park Baptist Church came in at number 10 on the list, out of 1,400 BGAV churches, with missions giving (beyond our own church) at $156.43 per member.
Before we pull a muscle reaching around to pat ourselves on the back, we should (a) be thankful that the BGAV counted our SBC giving in this total, since we gave only a very small amount (and that designated) to the BGAV in 2006; and (b) be humbled by remembering that the only reason we got in the top ten is because we actually have a disciplined church membership (i. e., we removed the "inactive" members from our rolls a few years ago to "right-size" the figures on our church). This listing also has irony, because our 2007 mission giving is being channelled through the SBCV.
Anyhow, I'm still proud of the fact we landed in the top ten!
JTR
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteCongrats! What a testament to good church discipline! Our church made the the top 100 per capita, but I think we fell back a little bit from last year. You beat us again. :-)
TBH