First Baptist Church of Peachtree City leads the way in Mission Georgia giving | Religion

First Baptist of Peachtree City led the state in giving to the Mission Georgia offering over the past year, contributing $23,623.50 to help the Georgia Baptist Mission Board bring hope and healing to the hurting while compassionately sharing the gospel.

The Mission Georgia offering is one of three major offerings recognized by the Georgia Baptist Convention. The others are the Lottie Moon Christmas offering to support international missions and the Annie Armstrong Easter offering to support North American missions.

Mission Georgia funds a multi-faceted approach to reaching Georgia with the gospel. That includes helping to rescue teenage girls from human traffickers, finding forever homes for foster care children, providing prenatal care and counseling for mothers-to-be to ensure they deliver healthy babies, helping at-risk children learn to read, helping immigrants learn English and find jobs.

Mission Georgia leaders, trying to head off future hardships for at-risk children, have made it a priority to help elementary-age children become proficient readers.

“The prison system looks at how many kids are behind in reading in the third grade to determine how many beds they will need in their prisons,” Cindy Schaeffner, a retired teacher and co-director of Read Georgia, said at a book collection event last year. “By third grade, if you’re behind in reading, the chances of catching up are slim. That’s why we have to…