The First Christian Church of Lathrop was truly blessed with a generous monetary gift from a gentleman who had attended our church as a youth. This is a lesson in never underestimating the influence we may have on the young people in our congregations, even if they no longer live in our communities. Upon receiving this gift, our church board had the foresight to invest the money with the guidance of the Joint Investment Trust of the Christian Church Foundation. Each year, the interest from the investment is used for needed projects and a good portion of the interest is applied to mission work. It was decided that 40% of the funds allotted to Missions would go to Local Missions, 40% to Regional and 20% to Global Missions.

This past year we were able to contribute to local projects such as: scholarships to local seminary students and college students in our congregation, Back Pack Buddy Program for local elementary children, refrigerator for local Community Outreach Program, Good News Club (an after school program for Lathrop Elementary students), and supporting a local college student on a mission project to Texas. At Christmas, our church as a whole, adopted four families to assist during the holidays.

Regional projects included contributing to the following: Care Portal Project in Clinton County, Disciples of Christ supported colleges in Missouri, Christian Church of Mid-America, National Benevolent Association and the Cane Ridge Re-Vital Program.

Global projects included supporting three missionaries: two teams in Africa, and one in Guatemala.

Feeling blessed? We most certainly are. May we continue to be guided by God’s loving grace and continue in the service of his Kingdom!