Give

The story of Memphis for the last 20 years includes growth in many of the wrong areas:
Crime- above the national average in every category in Memphis
Drugs- addiction and deaths by overdose continue to increase in Memphis
Failure in education in Memphis.

• 59 of 85 poor performing schools in Tennessee are in Shelby County
• 2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the fourth-grade will likely end up in jail or on welfare
• The ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children in low income neighborhoods
• 61% of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children.

The burning question is, “Will this continue to be the story of Memphis?” Will you help write the new story? By the grace of God, we must unite to change Memphis for the next generation – NextGEN. We will all need to pray like we have never prayed before, volunteer to do more than we’ve ever done before, and give strategically and generously as never before.

As we begin to shine the light of the gospel in specific ways, the NextGEN will see a new story for Memphis being written. The leadership of the MSBA is asking you to:

1. Pray – Just text @Pray901 to 81010 and you will begin to receive a single prayer need on your phone at 9:01 am each day. In this way, we will align our hearts with God’s for His will to be done in Memphis. In the days ahead we will introduce you to other prayer and outreach opportunities for your consideration.
2. Volunteer – Go to www.midsouthbaptist.com and register your willingness to explore being a volunteer in one of the ministries in Memphis which has a proven record of reaching children and youth with the gospel.
3. Give – Use the envelope provided by your church to make a generous gift to the Jack May Offering. Or you can go to www.midsouthbaptist.com and make your gift to the Jack May Offering. You can use the peer-to-peer tool on the website to spread the word about this bold effort and encourage others to join you.

We must not fail the NextGEN. This must be a total effort throughout the Memphis community. The burning questions are – “If not us, who? If not now, when?”