IMB int’l missions offering: $146.8M in 2011, up $1.1M

Southern Baptists’ gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions reached $146.8 million last year — the fourth-highest total in the offering’s 123-year history. In conjunction with Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program, the offering helps support nearly 5,000 Southern Baptist missionaries serving around the globe, providing salaries, housing, medical care and children’s education. The cost averages about $49,800 per year for each missionary.