Many missionaries to exotic populations devoid of a written language and untouched by the gospel struggle to communicate the Word of God. But thanks to Decatur Baptist Church in Morgan Baptist Association, that struggle just got thousands of dollars easier.
The $150,000 goal Decatur Baptist set for itself during its annual Global Impact Celebration (GIC), held Sept. 27–Oct. 1, was exceeded by $4,000 in just one night of offerings. Of that money, $60,000 went to two groups of missionaries working under the auspices of OneStory Quest, a ministry associated with the International Mission Board that is devoted to spreading the gospel in far-flung regions of the world solely via oral storytelling.
Regarding its new strategic partnership with OneStory, Randy Copeland, Decatur Baptist’s assistant to the pastor, said the church will be helping missionaries tell it on the mountains of Siberia and the over the hills of north Africa.
"After [the missionaries] learn the language, they develop relationships with the people who helped them learn, and then they use those people to help translate Bible stories into their own language," he said. "It’s really exciting."
The rest of the money given will be dispersed through various other channels of missions work.
"Everything that we do here is missions-oriented in some shape, form or fashion," Copeland said of Decatur Baptist. "(The GIC) has always been the highlight of our year." This year, 15 international missionaries were hosted during the event.
Share with others: