home missions gets socked! by David Crowe Find out more about the ministry of Free Will Home Missions at www.homemissions.net. The National Home Missions Department really got “socked” on Benjamin Randall Sunday, November 2006. Many pastors, churches, and individuals participated in a “Sock Offering” that raised thousands for the annual offering. It was a thrill to see boxes filled with socks of all shapes, sizes, and colors begin arriving at our office. Some were mailed. Others brought their offering by the office in person. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but the promotion was the brainstorm of staffers Kathy Brown and Ida Lewis. It’s so exciting to see what Free Will Baptists can do with a simple idea like a sock offering. I can hardly wait to see how the denomination responds to this offering next November!

For now, let me share with some tremendous stories and ideas from the churches that participated this year. I hung two of the smallest socks received on our Historical display in the Home Missions office. The sock on the left belonged to Tony, a young man from Discovery FWB Church (the congregation that started the idea of a sock offering). I still carry his sock in my briefcase when I travel. The sock on the right belonged to 2-year-old Mia Burton. She emptied her piggy bank into her sock for the offering at Madison FWB Church, pastored by Paul Hopson. Mia’s little sock held $10 in change. I hope we have many more children like Mia.

Rejoice Free Will Baptist Church, Antioch, TN

My wife Kathey and I are members of Rejoice FWB Church. Veteran missionary Cliff Donoho is our pastor. Our church (self-supporting for only two years) raised over $1,400 for the sock offering. Brother Cliff placed a pair of my ostrich-skin cowboy boots on the communion table in our church (his idea, not mine). The congregation filled their socks and my boots to overflowing. It’s great to see former mission churches supporting the whole program of our denomination.

Discovery Free Will Baptist Church, Stockton, CA

Pastor Matt Upton and his congregation built upon the idea that started with Tony’s sock several years ago. They printed iron-on decals with their church name and a place where each person could personalize their sock for their offering. They “socked” $772.56 for Benjamin Randall Sunday. Home Missions provides a sample sock for each church, and next year we will have printed socks that you can order or iron-on decals to put on the socks of individual church members.

Greenbrier Free Will Baptist Church, WAC, Adair, OK
(excerpts from a letter from Debbie Hamill, Missions Chairperson)

The congregation of Greenbrier FWB Church in Adair, OK, took the story of the little boy’s sock offering seriously on November 19. We hung socks from the stage after reading his story four weeks earlier. The congregation brought all kinds, shapes, and sizes of socks filled with money—even a pair of newborn baby socks and some very large socks. I was truly blessed at how well they responded to the offering. We had a lot of fun doing it. We collected: 559 quarters; 1,245 dimes; 635 nickels; 4,793 pennies; 3 personal checks; 1 Canadian penny; 1 metal washer; and 1 rubber washer for a total offering of $434.91.

Emmanuel Free Will Baptist Church, WAC
Washington, NC

Mission Prayer Chairperson, Dorothy Atkins sent the picture below from their offering. They called it, “Stuff Socks for Souls in America.” The WAC adopted this special project, and the ladies went all out with several bulletin boards to promote the offering. They provided buckets with home missionary prayer cards on them to collect the sock offering.

Many other “sock offerings” arrived at the Home Missions Department, and I want to thank each pastor, church, and individual that participated in the offering for 2006. Start filling your socks now—big socks, little socks, men’s socks, women’s socks, athletic socks, dress socks, old socks, new socks, black socks, blue socks, white socks, all colors of socks, long socks, short socks—even baby socks. Let’s see that Home Missions gets “Socked” again this November on Benjamin Randall Sunday!