 | BGMC CHANGES NAME
By Mary Boyd When BGMC was created in 1949, it was given the name of “Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade.” At that time, kids were encouraged to be on “a crusade—a mission” to help our missionaries with the printed materials that they needed, such as Sunday School literature and Bibles. |
| Times have now changed. BGMC now provides missionaries with whatever they need to spread the gospel. It is not limited to literature. Also, the word crusade is hard for kids to understand. They don’t know what crusade means. As a result, the decision was made to change the name of BGMC to “Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge.” The name change was ratified at the 52nd General Council in Indianapolis, Ind. Using the word challenge enables us to keep the “BGMC” acronym. We felt that the word challenge is a better descriptive word for the BGMC missions program. Our desire is for kids to be:
- challenged to help our missionaries,
- challenged to sacrificially give to missions,
- challenged to help the needy in the world,
- challenged to pray for missionaries,
- challenged to pray for various people groups,
- challenged to love and accept people of all races,
- challenged to reach the lost, and
- challenged to keep their hearts open to the call of God for full-time missions work.
We also want churches to be: - challenged to teach their kids about missions,
- challenged to give to BGMC,
- challenged to do whatever it takes to supply our missionaries, and
- challenged to meet the needs around the world.
The new motto for BGMC is “Challenging Kids to Reach the World.” The two-fold purpose of BGMC remains the same: (1) to create a heart of compassion in kids, and (2) to reach the children of the world. The name change takes effect immediately. As the name change is being phased in, the BGMC products, videos, etc., are being updated. Thank you for teaching your kids about missions and the call of God. And thank you for supplying our missionaries with funds so they can reach the world! If we all do our part, then the gospel will be spread to the ends of the earth! |
