It will move you little, if at all, to tell you six million people will die this year from hunger. Who can comprehend six million? And besides, few people die in this country from hunger … do they?

I could break it down further to say almost 16,000 children will die today from hunger. That’s a number equal to the population of any of the towns of Roanoke Rapids, Clayton, Laurinburg, Albemarle or Henderson. Every day.

More than 650 die every hour. That’s 11 a minute or a child every five seconds … about what it took you to read the headline above.

I’m just trying to help you grasp the scope of the problem. You don’t need to feel guilty about it. Cleaning your plate really doesn’t help the hungry children in China.

Many Christians, however, consider the problems of the world and of the family next door as partly their own. We don’t feel guilty that there are problems, but we feel compelled to address the problems of human suffering because we love Jesus and He loves those who suffer.

Jesus demonstrates throughout the Bible that those who suffer, who make their way to Him to tug at His cloak, to lower a friend through the roof, to travel for days just for a word, to beseech His mercy on their leprosy or blindness or madness elicit a loving response from Him.

But if you need a proof text, you can go with Matthew 25 where Jesus says that in the future the King will gather the nations, separating them on His right hand and His left, as a shepherd divides sheep from goats. He will call those on His right hand “blessed” because when He was hungry and thirsty, they gave Him meat and drink. When He was a stranger, they took Him in and gave Him clothes when He was naked.

Of course the righteous ask when they ever saw the King in such a circumstance.

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40)
October is typically the month in which Baptists receive a special offering used to alleviate hunger. Receipts from North Carolina Baptist churches are divided 60 percent to the International Mission Board; 15 percent to the North American Mission Board; 20 percent to the North Carolina Hunger Fund and five percent to the disaster/food fund.

Just this year money from the disaster/food fund, which is a partnership with N.C. Baptist Men, has helped buy a well drilling rig for Transformation India Movement and food for distribution among poor gypsies in the Ukraine.

No matter the breakdown of funds distribution, 100 percent is utilized directly for hunger projects because gifts through the Cooperative Program already support the infrastructure necessary to get the funds to work directly with the people they are meant to serve.

Some of the money buys food and puts it into the hands of the hungry. Some money establishes agricultural and fishing demonstration farms to teach methods the hungry can use to feed themselves into the future. Some is used to teach trade skills so men and women will have a job through which they can buy their own food.

In 2009 about $150,000 that North Carolina Baptists give through the World Hunger Fund will be distributed within this state, to help churches stock food pantries and to feed hungry people in other ways. North Carolina Baptists gave almost $600,000 toward the hunger fund in 2008.

That’s a lot of money, but it averages just under $170 per church, less than a dollar a member.

What do people and churches do with the money? A great example is Wavey Williams, recently recognized by General Mills as a community champion for his work through Greater Gaston Baptist Association in multi-housing ministry utilizing after school snacks and food in his work. A church plant has grown out of his work and he tears up recounting a letter from a young person saying Wavey’s example saved his life.

Abbott’s Creek Baptist Church in rural High Point converted a picnic shelter into a food distribution point and utilized $2,500 from the hunger fund to stock it. Calvary Baptist Church in Beaufort, and other churches, use hunger funds to stock food pantries that meet emergencies for desperate families.

World Hunger Day in Baptist churches is observed Oct. 11. Free promotional materials are available through Kay Bissette at the BSC, phone (919) 459-5540 or by writing kbissette@ncbaptist.org. Designate your gift for world hunger and simply give it through your local church.

It will be distributed through the Baptist State Convention and will be utilized 100 percent for the work you intend.

In Baptist life three organizations are primarily responsible for utilizing these hunger funds to do good in the lives of those Jesus loves: your Baptist State Convention; the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board. Visit the websites of any of these to learn more about what they do specifically.

These are days more than any other in a long time, in which our actions will give validity to our words about love.