Southern Baptists contributed nearly $134 million to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering this year, the second-largest total in the offerings 115-year history.
When the books closed on the 2004 offering May 31, Southern Baptists had given $133,886,221.58. The amount fell just short of the previous year's $136 million total and short of the $150 million goal.
On the heels of the Lottie Moon emphasis and in the months following, Southern Baptists also gave more than $16.3 million to relief efforts after a tsunami struck parts of southern Asia and the Pacific Rim regions Dec. 26, 2004.
“We are overwhelmed with this testimony of Southern Baptists' heart for missions and desire to reach our world for Jesus Christ,” said Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board. “We were able to remove restrictions on the number of missionaries being appointed after the record offering [in 2003] but were concerned about whether or not that level of support would be sustained.”
Baptist Press