BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Children at 40 Virginia Baptist churches have joined children in congregations across the country to raise more than $250,000 to provide goats, sheep, pigs and cows to struggling families in Croatia, still suffering from years of war.
Project MOST, an initiative of National Woman's Missionary Union, struck a chord with WMU children's ministries, making it one of the best-received WMU ministries in the organization's history.
The project, begun in 2004, takes its name from the Croatian word “most,” which means bridge. “Project MOST serves as a bridge to move Croatians from poverty to self-sufficiency and economic stability, from bitterness to hope, and from cultural dogma to a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ,” said a WMU description of the project.
The initial goal was $5,000. But after it was featured in the February 2007 materials for WMU's Girls in Action and Children in Action organizations, response was overwhelming. Between February and June, children in the two organizations, as well as Sunday school classes, raised more than $250,000.
Children at the 40 Virginia churches—plus a few other churches in the state—raised $13,445, the 10th largest amount among participating states.
Croatian families will receive immediate benefits from the animals from milk or meat, and also learn how to raise livestock.
However, Project MOST is about more than raising money; the children learned about another culture, as well as ways to share the gospel. On several occasions, the children themselves accepted Christ as a result of the ministry experience.
Girls and boys of all ages responded in creative ways to raise money for Project MOST. One child decided to raise funds through a jump-a-thon. He and his Children in Action group called the project “Jumping Rope for a Goat” and asked for pledges from members of their church and community to buy a goat for $139. Another child in a GA group made a scrapbook with a picture of a goat in it and divided the goat into 139 parts. She took the scrapbook with her everywhere and colored in a different part of the goat every time someone gave her $1. She raised enough for the entire goat. Other children made banks, sold baked goods, did chores, cleaned Sunday school rooms, and went class-to-class in the church, involving the entire congregation. Some even showed their support by tasting goat milk.
WMU's International Initiatives partnered with a missionary in Croatia to assess needs there. WMU established a partnership with the missionary that would channel monetary support through a fund held by the WMU Foundation.
Virginia churches that participated are:
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Naruna
Mount Hermon Baptist Church, Danville
Marion Baptist Church, Marion
Northside Baptist Church, Mechanicsville
Wilderness Baptist Church, Spotsylvania
Orcutt Baptist Church, Newport News
Chestnut Level Baptist Church, Blairs
First Baptist Church, Richmond
Chatham Baptist Church, Chatham
Pioneer Baptist Church, Richmond
Webber Memorial Baptist Church, Richmond
Woodlawn Baptist Church, Colonial Heights
Green Valley Baptist Church, Lebanon
Potomac Baptist Church, King George
Memorial Baptist Church, Staunton
Beth Car Baptist Church, Halifax
Ridgewood Baptist Church, Roanoke
Tomahawk Baptist Church, Midlothian
Ginter Park Baptist Church, Richmond
Hollins Road Baptist Church, Roanoke
Buffalo Baptist Church, Buffalo Junction
College Park Baptist Church, Danville
Mount Nebo Baptist Church, Charlotte Court House
Zion Baptist Church, Parksley
Southside Baptist Church, Chesapeake
Beachlawn Baptist Church, Virginia Beach
Sedley Baptist Church, Sedley
Buckingham Baptist Church, New Canton
North Run Baptist Church, Richmond
Walnut Hills Baptist Church, Willliamsburg
Providence Baptist Church, Heathsville
Midway Baptist Church, Amherst
Salem Baptist Church, Fredericksburg
Chestnut Grove Baptist Church, Earlysville
Faith Baptist Church, Hampton
Lyndale Baptist Church, Richmond
Howerston Baptist Church, Howerston
Lyndale Baptist Church, Richmond
Starling Avenue Baptist Church, Martinsville
Ferry Farm Baptist Church, Fredericksburg
Branch's Baptist Church, Richmond