Alabama Baptists have many ministries, but only one mission — the Great Commission.
That pronouncement was made by Rick Lance, executive director of the State Board of Missions (SBOM), during the Alabama Baptist State Convention held Nov. 13–14 at Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville.
“Our Lord gave us the Great Commission,” Lance said. “And have you ever wondered why the Great Commission is called ‘great?’ ”
Lance pointed out the text in Matthew 28, in which Christ commanded His disciples to go out into the world and make disciples, never uses the word great.
“My estimation is that we call the Great Commission great because of the great Person who gave it,” he said. “The great purpose inherent in the Great Commission also makes it great — making disciples is our challenge, our inheritance, our ministry and our opportunity.
“Today, we stand on solid ground when we make the declaration that we have only one mission and that is the Great Commission,” Lance said. “And since 1925, we’ve had really, truly one program — the rest are ministries.
Lance said that one program is the Cooperative Program, which was founded in 1925.
“Our gathering in this convention setting is a celebration of the fact we are committed to be Great Commission ministers on mission for Jesus Christ,” he said.
Reflecting on the past year, he said “this has been an exciting year in the life of the SBOM.”
Lance told messengers the year saw the origin of inner-city evangelism efforts with Crossover Montgomery, held prior to the 2001 state convention in Montgomery.
“It was, in a way, a kickoff for us in terms of ‘Through Every Door,’”
Lance said, referring to efforts by Alabama Baptists to share Christ with every Alabamian. “It also helped us celebrate new beginnings in church starts.”
Lance said Hope Community Church was founded in January of this year as a result of Crossover Montgomery. “Literally hundreds of people in the inner city of Montgomery have been led to Christ,” he said.
“That brings together the essence of what ‘Through Every Door’ has been,” Lance said.
Reporting on Crossover Huntsville, a similar evangelistic thrust held during a month-long period prior to the convention, he said 5,668 people participated, with 665 people making professions of faith.
Other reports on SBOM activities in the past year included the following information:
- State missionaries traveled almost 700,000 miles across the state visiting local churches and participating in ministry activities.
- The SBOM participated in 2,230 ministry events.
- A “church visit effort” is being inaugurated,” in which Lance said SBOM representatives hope to visit each of Alabama’s 3,172 churches in the next five years.
Reporting on financial operation of the SBOM, Lance said the SBOM received $55.1 million in financial gifts during 2000. Of that amount, he said $38 million was received for the Cooperative Program.
Detailing the distribution of financial gifts by Alabama Baptists, he said:
- Almost $8.25 million went to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
- $4.6 million went to Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.
- World hunger offering, the largest by any state convention, was $8.6 million.
- Gifts to general disaster relief totaled $400,550.
- Gifts to designated SBC missions totaled $568,000.
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