Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky, opened their hearts and pocketbooks and gave $116,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering — $100,000 on Sunday and another $16,000 on Monday — and the motivation was amazingly simple.
Pastor Hershael York said he challenged members, as he does every year, to give more than they spend on anybody for Christmas. “In essence,” he said, “the biggest gift you give is to Jesus. That works for rich, middle class or poor. It’s based on what you do.”
York said by accepting that challenge it “keeps Christ at the center. He is what this holiday is about, the mission is central.”
In the past 20 years, Buck Run has given $1,326,315 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.
The challenge applies to the pastor as well, he said. “We take a vacation every December. The total we spend on vacation we make sure to give more to Lottie Moon. It’s what we are challenging everybody to do. We don’t want anybody feeling guilty about gifts or having vacations. Just make sure you’re budgeting for the main thing, and that’s the mission of Jesus Christ.”
Walk to the manger
York said on the Sunday before Christmas — and this year it was the second Sunday — they do a Walk To the Manager where everyone comes forward and drops a donation into the manager at the front of the church. Young and old participate, he said, in a heartfelt ceremony.
“Like the Wise Men who brought their gifts to Jesus, we are bringing our gifts,” he said. “You see little kids coming through giving an offering.”
York said this one touched him more than usual because it was his last as pastor. He is retiring in January after 20 years in the pulpit at Buck Run.
“I’ve lost several friends and watching their widows put the offering in was precious,” he said through a cracking voice. “Even in their loss and grief, they are keeping their hearts focused.
“It’s a powerful statement where we take time in our service for everybody to do that. Getting everybody to participate makes it most significant.”
He said Buck Run was doing the Walk To the Manger before he came but the donations have added up beyond what he could have imagined over the years. York said in his first year as pastor Buck Run collected $1,145 in 2003.
“The next year I really challenged them, and it went to $22,000,” he said. “It has, in general, gotten larger and larger — 2018 was the first time we hit $90,000 (with $94,000). The COVID year, I didn’t know what kind of response we’d get. We got almost right at $100,000. In ’21, it was $110,000 and that has been our largest until this year. We were down to $103,000 last year. How about that, saying down to $103,000? God has been so good.”
Making a dent
Buck Run is a large church but not mega-sized. York said there were 650 in attendance on Sunday.
“Our budget is 1.8 million,” he said. “In November, we took up a big offering to put a dent in our debt, since I’m leaving. We took up $178,000 above the budget. And then to do that for Lottie Moon? Buck Run is the most amazing church I’ve ever seen. It has been my honor to pastor there for 20 years.”
York said the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering that goes to support the work of IMB missionaries hits at the heart of the gospel.
“Whatever other problems we have in the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention), our missionaries aren’t causing them,” he said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mark Maynard and originally published by the Kentucky Today.
