When it comes to reaching the world for Christ, Southern Baptists “are not there yet,” said Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board (IMB).
In his final report as IMB president to the Southern Baptist Convention on June 15, Rankin observed he has had the honor of seeing more than 10,000 missionaries being sent to minister during a time “God has chosen to work in unprecedented ways.”
Rankin, who retires July 31 after 17 years at the helm of the IMB, cited statistics that indicate progress. But he asked, “Are we there yet?
“Have we walked every road? Climbed every hill? Have we told every soul?” he asked.
Even though Rankin noted that baptisms around the globe have more than doubled to nearly 500,000 each of the last three years and that in 2008 missionaries and their national partners baptized more than 506,000 believers and started 24,650 new churches across the globe, he said we are not there yet.
Success on the missions field cannot be measured by the record number of missionaries sent, church growth statistics overseas or the number of new believers baptized, Rankin said.
The only way to determine success is to determine the job that is still to be done, he continued.
“How many people have yet to be touched by the gospel?” Rankin asked.
He informed messengers there are 11,000-plus distinct ethnic people groups in the world and more than 6,400 of those are still unreached with less than 2 percent having heard the gospel.
Rankin stressed the only way these people can hear the gospel is to send missionaries who are willing to answer God’s call.
“God has blessed and prospered us with numbers and resources and the potential for reaching the whole world,” he said. “By what criteria can we justify depriving a lost world of the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel?”
The IMB leader related that after sending out more than 900 new missionaries in 2008 and reaching a record level of 5,624 missionary personnel overseas, the IMB has to cut back to no more than 5,000 missionaries by the end of 2010 because of budget restrictions.
And this is happening despite Southern Baptists giving almost $149 million to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in 2009, an increase of more than 5 percent over the previous year’s offering and the third-largest total. “We will still have to restrict appointments and restrict our missionary force,” he said.
Many people around the world are simply waiting for someone to tell them about Jesus, said Timothy Hostetler, an IMB representative whose real name is withheld for security reasons. Hostetler leads 10 teams among Muslims in North Africa and the Middle East.
Speaking from behind a screen, Hostetler contended that people in many Muslim-dominated countries are open to the teachings of Jesus Christ — they just haven’t heard those teachings yet.
“Wherever we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Muslims are following Him as their Savior,” he said. “If there is a place with no believers, it is a place with no personal gospel witness.”
Rankin challenged Southern Baptists to resolve that “reaching His people with the gospel of Christ” is the calling that “God has placed on each of us.” (Editor’s Network, BP)
Share with others: