By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
CLEVELAND — New Friendship Baptist Church in rural Bradley County has always been a strong supporter of missions, said pastor Eric Atkins.
Not only does the church give 12.5 percent of its undesignated receipts through the Cooperative Program and 5 percent to CrossNet Baptist Association, the church sets lofty goals for the annual missions offerings — Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.
“Like any other church coming out of the pandemic, we saw a greater need to support these offerings,” Atkins said.
This year, the church set a goal of $2,500 for GOTM, a challenging goal for a congregation that has averaged about 50 people weekly since the onset of the pandemic a year ago. [Read more…]