Lottie needs you .

What does a woman who died 90 years ago on a boat from China have to do with you? A lot more than you might think.

If you've been Southern Baptist for very long, you've probably heard more than you ever wanted to know about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions and the petite missionary to China whose name it bears.

As a child, you may have given to Lottie Moon through your church. And you probably know that 100 percent of the offering goes to the International Mission Board's overseas budget-none of it is spent on stateside expenses or staff.

You may have heard Lottie Moon played practical jokes as a child, preferred Shakespeare to the Bible as a high school student (Don't hold it against her!) and loved the Chinese with all her heart as an adult.

And you probably know about the Cooperative Program, too-the way Southern Baptists combine their money to support different ministries.

But what you may not know is how you-a college student-are important to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO).

Take Christie Ganley, for instance. She's a sophomore at Mississippi College in Clinton, and she's seen firsthand the difference LMCO makes.

Christie was a seventh-grader at a Florida Girls in Action/Acteens camp when God called her to international missions.

Since then, He's taken her around the world-from the Caribbean, to Europe, to Africa-and He's made her a believer in Lottie Moon and the Cooperative Program. She's seen them work.

NEVER HEARD JESUS' NAME

When Christie was an Acteen, she heard that 1.68 billion people have had little or no access to the gospel.

Then, when she went to a village in Burkina Faso, West Africa, she met some of those people.

"1.68 billion is not a number," Christie says. "It's these faces; it's people. There's urgency."

In half a dozen international mission trips, Christie has served alongside International Mission Board missionaries who work with urgency to make sure every person has a chance to hear.

OUR TASK

And Christie doesn't buy the argument that college students aren't responsible for supporting Southern Baptist missionaries.

"As Christians we're all equally important," she says. "I've seen the benefits of the Cooperative Program, and I realize the importance.

"It's Christians' responsibility to reach out. Jesus said so. Our world's dying-there are people out there who still don't know."

WHY TO TRUST LOTTIE MOON AND THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM

"It's faith. Not everything's perfect, but I understand what an impact the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon make because I've seen it," she says.

Melissa Clarke is another college student. She says: "While discussing heaven and hell with a classmate, he asked me, 'But what about the people who never get an opportunity to hear about Jesus?'

"By giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, I am able to help support missionaries who will find those people who've never heard the name of Jesus. They will open the people's eyes to a Savior and God who loves them."

In 2001 Southern Baptist sacrifice enabled missionaries and their overseas partners to baptize an average of more than 1,000 people every day.

RESTRICTING MISSIONARY FLOW?

For the first time, the International Mission Board is considering restricting the flow of missionaries to the field. Southern Baptist giving just isn't keeping up with the going.

The International Mission Board has trimmed its expenses as much as possible. But the 2003 budget still provides for a net increase of only 150 new missionaries-though IMB leaders expect at least 400.

More than 5,400 missionaries serve through the International Mission Board. If Southern Baptist giving catches up to their going, more than 8,000 missionaries could be serving by the end of the decade.

But it will take the giving of every Southern Baptist-including you.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

That's right-even a college student's tight budget can help ensure that all Southern Baptists who are ready to serve as missionaries have the resources to do so. Here's how-

o First, be faithful to tithe through your church. Some of those funds will support the Cooperative Program and, thus, the International Mission Board and North American Mission Board.

o Look for creative ways to give funds above your tithe to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Here are some ideas:

1. Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas on television instead of renting it. Give the money you saved to Lottie Moon. You'll support campus missionaries in Paris for an hour, letting them explain the gospel to students who've never heard the truth.

2. Skip one weekend's date night and invite another couple on a double date to a free Christmas concert. The money you don't spend that night will support a leadership trainer in Asia for a day, enabling him to teach local believers how to win their people to Christ.

3. Challenge 20 friends to give up two Starbucks a week for six weeks. Pool the money you saved to support a nurse in Africa for a week as she gives medicine and love to an unreached people group.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT YOUR LOTTIE MOON AND COOPERATIVE PROGRAM DOLLARS DO? READ MISSIONARY REPORTS AT http://ime.imb.org/LMCO/storiesneed.asp.

If your church doesn't participate in the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and you want to give on your own, go to http://www.imb.org/core/giving to give your gift online.