A review of the Bold Mission Thrust goals Southern Baptist set 25 years ago reveals God has been at work around the world, said Avery Willis, IMB senior vice president for overseas operations.
Bold Mission Thrust challenged Southern Baptists to give everyone in the world an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel by 2000. The emphasis called for almost doubling the number of missionaries to 5,000 and multiplying other statistical categories tenfold.
“Bold Mission Thrust was not a plan but a vision,” Willis said. “We knew God had to do it because we couldn’t.”
Trustees received a breakdown of progress on seven categories of Bold Mission Thrust overseas goals”
Missionaries: 1975 level- 2,667; goal- 5,000; actual final total- 4,946; increase- 85.5 percent.
Countries: 1975 level- 82; goal- 125; actual- 153; increase- 86.6 percent.
Volunteers (annual): 1975 level- 1,200; goal- 10,000; actual- 30,362; increase- 2430.2 percent.
Churches: 1975 level- 7,584; goal- 75,840; actual- 60,988; increase- 704.2 percent.
Churches/chapels combined: 1975 level- 18,489; goal- 184,890; actual- 99,282; increase- 437 percent.
Church membership: 1975 level- 896,063; goal-8,960,630; actual-5,624,018; increase- 527.6 percent.
Baptisms: 1975 level- 80,747; goal- 807,470; actual- 451,301; increase- 458.9 percent.
(BP)
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