God has been so good to us! Thank you for your part in our spiritual family; enjoying the journey and the mission together is one of God’s greatest blessings.

Jesus promised that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit entered our lives - and that power would enable us to be His witnesses “here, not far from here, a long ways from here, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8; Carlisle translation). It’s happening!

Through your Annual Missions Offering, you’ve given $63,573, designating 35% to Mission to Unreached Peoples, 30% to the offerings of Texas Baptists for state missions and world hunger, 20% to Southern Baptist offerings for home and foreign missions, and the remaining 15% shared almost evenly with the Baptist World Alliance and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Your giving will change lives in each dimension of Acts 1:8.

Several additional opportunities for involvement are at hand, as well. It’s not too late to change your view of God’s world through the Perspectives classes - we’re sponsoring both Plano and McKinney groups to begin this Monday (www.perspectives.org). If you’re not involved there, join us here as we meet at 6 p.m. on Monday to reach out to community newcomers with Christ’s love.

I look forward to being with you at the Missions Breakfast from 9-11 a.m. on January 29 in the Fellowship Hall. You’ll see and hear the completion of the first phase of our Puentes de Dios partnerships in southern Mexico - as well as learn what the second phase will accomplish! In addition to eating together, you’ll hear a very exciting challenge to “adopt” an unreached people group (UPG) as a class or department. Who knows what God might do as He draws our attention to those who have never heard?

Pray, too, for those of us who will be participating in the Worldwide Conference of Mission to Unreached Peoples in Chaing Mai, Thailand next month. A team will be providing care and programming for the children of MUP’s missionaries as they meet in their “once-every-three-year” global gathering.