This will be my last EBO at Work column. It has been a privilege to share the impact of the Eliza Broadus Offering through this monthly column. From my travels across the state, I can say with certainty, that EBO is being used to help share the gospel.

When I came in 1999, the goal for our state missions offering was $800,000. We gave $774,080. In 2000 we raised our goal to $1 million and have never looked back. I remember well the 2008 Kentucky WMU Annual Meeting when we announced that we had exceeded this goal for the first time.

Our 2018-19 goal is $1.25 million We’ve been striving to reach this goal for several years. I pray that with the coming our new executive director, Liz Encinia, that we will give generously and exceed the goal in her first year!

A few weeks ago, I attended the annual State Missionaries Retreat provided by the KBC Missions Mobilization Team for our Kentucky missionaries. Most who come are self-funded and this retreat is a special time of renewal for them. Your gifts to the Eliza Broadus Offering help to provide the retreat and encourage their work. Each year I remind our missionaries about the EBO grants that are available through an application process. Many hands went up around the room when I asked who had received an EBO grant.

It is the time of year when grant applications are received by Kentucky WMU. Any KBC affiliated church, association, ministry, or missionary may apply. Most grants range from $1,000-$3,000 and are used for ministry supplies and other expenses. These grants make a big difference in ministries with small budgets. Applications are due by Dec. 15 and require the endorsement of the director of missions or the WMU director in the association where the ministry is located. Learn more: kywmu.org/eboapplication.

Keep up the good work, Kentucky Baptists! Continue to learn, pray, give, go, and send for missions. Tell the stories of missions locally and around the world. Pray for God to call out missionaries from your church. Give generously to support missions. Go in person and help send others to “Testify!”