This time of year reminds us that we are the recipients of the greatest gift the world has ever known – the love, grace, and mercy of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. This gift of God’s PROMISE to send salvation and to ransom a people unto Himself is the whole reason we celebrate Christmas.

God let go of everything. He sent His Son to give us life, breath, and freedom at no cost to us but at the highest cost to our Savior. He set us free from our chains and our bondage, from what enslaved us, to deliver us out of death and into life – to give us Himself.  

We are free and forgiven forever. But there are many who have yet to hear of this PROMISE of life fulfilled in Christ.  

Therefore, having freely received, we freely give.

Why give to the Global Offering?

In response to all He has done, we collectively agree that we want the world to know about Jesus! So we GIVE to the Global Offering. We give sacrificially. We give generously. We give joyfully. Practically, we challenge one another to match our spending on gifts at Christmas with our giving to the Global Offering. Because we believe that here our resources will be multiplied to help the world come to know Jesus.  

We give so that another Christmas doesn’t go by without them hearing of the PROMISED hope found in Christ.

Together we will Share the Promise!  

How is the Global Offering used?

There are five main ways the Global Offering is used. These categories help send, support, and open doors for the gospel to go forward.

1. Short-Term Scholarships – The Church at Brook Hills prioritizes sending members of our faith family each year on Short-Term mission. We want everyone in our faith family to go. Portions of the Global Offering allow Brook Hills to mobilize our people by giving scholarships to students, families, and those with hardship to go on Short-Term mission each year.
    
2. Mid-Term / Long-Term Support– Many of our faith family members respond to God’s calling and opportunity to serve overseas in a Mid-Term capacity (2 months – 2 years) and in a Long-Term capacity (2 years or more). The Global Offering allows us to financially support our members who have answered the call to live and make disciples in other contexts.  
    
3. Partners – Brook Hills could not participate in certain areas of the world without our strategic partners. The Global Offering allows our faith family to resource special projects that open up doors for gospel witness and fuel the Long-Term Disciple-Making ministry of our partners.
    
4. Member Organizations – There are many within our faith family who lead mission organizations that strengthen the church around the world. The Global Offering helps contribute to the overall work of some of those organizations we are strategically involved with.
    
5. Crisis Relief – Natural disasters, wars, famines, emergencies, and unexpected crises will happen in our world each year. Therefore, a portion of the Global Offering is set aside so Brook Hills can quickly respond and participate with our global partners when a crisis occurs.

The Global Offering in Action

In 2017, The Global Offering allowed The Church at Brook Hills to continue pressing forward into some of the hardest-to-reach places on earth and to strengthen the local church and believers in these areas. There are many ways the Global Offering impacted our world. Below are just a few examples of your generosity in action:

• Thousands of people heard the gospel this year in North America, South America, The Middle East, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia because God opened doors for gospel witness and our people were there to share.
   
• The Global Offering supported 138 junior high, high school, and college age students to go on a Short-Term mission trip in 2017 – the majority of those trips served partners working among unreached people groups.
   
• The Global Offering allowed 18 families to serve together on a Short-Term mission trip in 2017, most of which were working among unreached people groups living within the United States.
   
• The Global Offering helped support 25 Mid-Termers who were sent from our faith family to serve in 14 different countries – the large majority of whom served among unreached people groups.
   
• The Global Offering allows us to generously support 17 Long-Term Missionary units living cross-culturally for the sake of the gospel.  

The Global Offering and the Unreached

NEPAL – Eight of the 10 highest mountains in the world are in Nepal. These mountains are the birthplace of both Buddhism and Hinduism.  

239 of Nepal’s 250 People Groups remain unreached.

Brook Hills helped train and send indigenous laborers to work among 23 Tibetan unreached people groups living in remote villages throughout the Himalayas. Hundreds of people heard the gospel for the very first time this year as a result of six remote training programs that were held in some of the most remote and difficult-to-access Himalayan villages in 2017.

CAMBODIA – 15 million people live in Cambodia. Less than 2% are evangelical Christians.

In the dry season, 3.9 million people (25% of the population) are collecting water from an unsafe source like a pond, open well, or river.  

Brook Hills, in partnership with Neverthirst and the local church, helped strategically put in 10 hand pumps and 156 bio-sand filters that provided clean water to over 1,500 people in 3 provinces. Those same people in those three provinces heard the gospel and the hope that comes from Christ.  

INDIA – 1.3 billion people live in India. 2.2% are evangelical Christians.

Of the 2,611 people groups in India, 2,379 are considered unreached.

Brook Hills supported a six-month intensive training program for 30 national believers. These leaders were trained and equipped for pastoral leadership in local churches throughout the northern area of India. By God’s grace, these pastors are sharing the gospel, making disciples, and churches are being established in village after village throughout this area of India. Our prayer is to see third and fourth generation believers in these villages.  

TURKEY – 74 million people live in Turkey.

96% are Muslim, making Turkey – percentage-wise – the most unreached country in the world.

Brook Hills supported an advertising project that produced marketing materials and technology platforms for distribution to connect people in a large metropolitan city who were interested in the gospel to believers living in the city.  Thousands of people were touched by these simple online advertisements on Facebook, Google ads, newspapers, and billboards. Many people responded with interest to know more about the gospel. Local believers in the city are now actively working to connect with those interested.

TEXAS – On August 25, Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas as a Category 4 storm.  

Harvey left in its wake 90 casualties, $198 billion in damage, and devastation from flood waters that people are still recovering from.

Brook Hills, in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, was able to lock arms with local churches in the Houston, Pearland, Portland, Santa Fe, and Victoria areas of Texas and assist more than 2,100 families who were in need of help after the storm.      

Looking Forward

Our desire is that the New Year will bring more and more opportunities to send and support our people and our partners on mission. We want to continue to risk intentionally for the sake of those who have not heard and push into where God is at work.

Southeast Asia remains a place where God continues to open doors for our faith family to participate in strengthening the local church and press into areas where the church does not exist.  

Central Asia is a dynamic area of the world where Muslims are interested in knowing more about Christ and where we want to be ready and bold in our witness to share with them.

North Africa/The Middle East continues to be a place that God is opening strategic opportunities for our faith family to meet both urgent physical and spiritual needs.

East Asia has opened up in unprecedented ways. God has given favor to our faith family to be in homes of locals, and we want to continue to press in so that whole families will come to know Christ.  

We have much to celebrate and much to look forward to. May we be a people who continue to connect that the blessing of our salvation is ultimately for the blessing of the nations (Psalm 67). May we give generously so the gospel will be multiplied throughout the world.

Ways to Give

ONLINE – Go to brookhills.org/globaloffering to give online.

GLOBAL OFFERING BASKETS – Throughout December, you can give during each of the services by dropping your gift into one of the Global Offering baskets placed in the worship room.

GIVING KIOSK – Visit the giving kiosk in the lobby, and be sure to mark your gift as going to the Global Offering.

MAIL – Send your Global Offering to our offices at:

The Church at Brook Hills
3145 Brook Highland Pkwy
Birmingham, AL 35242

Please designate your gift to The Global Offering.