HISTORIC MOMENT: GOTM HITS NEW HIGH MARK
By Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptists have broken their record for the fourth consecutive year, with gifts to the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions surpassing $2.4 million with two months remaining in the fiscal year.
As of Friday, donations reached $2,461,971, exceeding last year’s record of $2,451,737 by more than $10,000.
“This is the fourth consecutive year that Tennessee Baptists have set a record for Golden Offering giving, demonstrating a continued commitment to working together to meet needs and spread the gospel across the state,” said Vickie Anderson, executive director-treasurer of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union.
The increased funding directly expands ministry reach across Tennessee, Anderson said. Additional donations support compassion ministries, disaster relief, church planting, collegiate campus ministry, missions discipleship programs, the BlueOval City partnership, adoption services, and associational ministries.
Tennessee WMU partners annually with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board to develop and promote the Golden Offering alongside the Week of Prayer for Tennessee Missions. Churches traditionally observe the prayer week during the second week of September, though congregations may choose any convenient week.
Joe Lovell, chief financial officer for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, said the offering’s local focus creates visible impact for donors.
“GOTM focuses exclusively on Tennessee missions,” Lovell said.
“When we are ministering through our TBC churches, the churches see firsthand the tremendous impact of their gifts. Our best fundraising efforts involve making everyone aware that our financial support is made possible by the churches’ generous gifts to GOTM.
“The record giving this year is a direct result of churches across the state seeking to be involved in reaching Tennessee,” Lovell said.
The giving period continues through Aug. 31, with organizers aiming for $2.7 million in total gifts for the 2024-25 offering year.
Named for W.C. and Mildred Golden, who established the offering at the turn of the 20th century, the annual campaign funds Tennessee-specific mission work not covered by the denomination’s Cooperative Program.
Randy C. Davis, executive director-treasurer of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, emphasized the state’s ongoing mission needs and donors’ generous response.
“Over the years, I’ve learned: one, Tennesseans respond with great generosity to great need. Two, as I’ve said for 15 years, Tennessee is a mission field, any way you slice it,” Davis said. “And once again Tennessee Baptists have responded to great need by setting a new record of cash gifts through the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.”
Davis highlighted specific examples of the offering’s impact, from supporting a church plant that recently opened a new building to helping revitalize a congregation that grew from eight members considering closure to 120 in attendance.
The funds also assisted families with adoption costs and provided housing for those displaced by Hurricane Helene flooding.
“I cannot begin to tell you what joy it is to be on this journey with people who know how to give deeply to Great Commission causes,” Davis said. “Thank you for your sacrificial spirit allowing us to celebrate this new record together.”
Tennessee Baptists can donate or find more information at tnbaptist.org/gotm. B&R
