Dear Friends,

This is the last of the 9 letters to promote this year's World Mission Offering.Thank you for reading them.It is humbling and very gratifying to have heard from a number of you that you and your churches have set ambitious goals for the offering.We'll continue praying with you that these goals can be met or exceeded.

To review the message of the past two months, in the 1920s, there were over 850 American Baptist Missionaries serving around the world.Today, there are 137 and without a 36% increase in the World Mission Offering, by this time next year there will be 100 – 110.

Perhaps communication efforts have not been effective but today only about half of the ABC churches participate in the World Mission Offering and an estimated 80% of the international mission contributions of ABC churches go outside the denomination.It is felt that a major reason for these trends is that we have stayed with a system of centralized support while most churches are seeking to deal more directly with individual missionaries.

Bringing matters to a head were decisions made in the 90s to use some of the apparent growth of invested endowment funds to add staff and missionaries.But then the stock market crashed and giving did not increase enough to fill the gap.The Board governing International Ministries has said the budget must be balanced in the coming year, which brings us to where we are today.

For the past several years, appropriations to the work of our international partner groups have been reduced.Last January, 11 of International Ministries staff at Valley Forge were let go.Funds to support the work of missionaries have been reduced and adjustments in benefits have been made.The only place left to cut is in the number of missionaries.

Looking ahead, a new system will be phased in emphasizing the building of relationships between missionaries and churches.But for the next few years in particular, the World Mission Offering is of extraordinary importance in keeping missionaries on the field and the work of our international partners going.

While it is a sobering situation, it is also exciting to take stock of what we are all a part of.Our third letter spoke of the wave of worship that works its way around the world following the time zones each Sunday.One hundred and ninety years of American Baptist mission endeavors has helped build a large part of that wave.In spite of all that has been done though, there is still much to do.

In Thailand, population increases from indigenous people, immigrants fleeing unlivable conditions in neighboring countries combined with government policies are causing a large migration of people leaving the rural areas coming into the cities.They leave not only their homes and traditional way of life, but their faith and social system that helps keep them grounded.As we discussed in our 4th letter, ministries reaching out to these newly urbanized people are just getting started.

Several of our letters have mentioned local leaders that God has called to work with their people.New areas that may look "empty" on maps are not empty at all, but full of God's people that do not know him yet.We are helping these local leaders and evangelists reach out to these often-difficult areas.One hundred and fifty thousand refugees are living in a series of camps along the Thai/Burma border.Many of these are our Baptist brothers and sisters and we hope to give them encouragement.

In our current position, we have some areas of special interest, but Marcia and I work with all the Baptist work in Thailand so these 9 letters have only touched on a small part of what God is doing here.We work together with 6 mission organizations from 5 countries.There are about 40 full time missionaries and 10 short-term missionaries and volunteers from at least 9 countries.Depending on what is counted, there would be 100 programs and projects supported by the missions and volunteers.It is amazing to see how God takes people and resources from around the world and weaves them together to work in the lives of individuals in obscure corners of the world.

We hope you feel that this is your work as much as ours or any one else's because you make it all possible.Thank you again for supporting the World Mission Offering this year and thank you again for all your prayers.We look forward to seeing where God will lead us in the future.

Yours in Christ,

Duane & Marcia Binkley