International Mission Board trustees appointed 71 fully supported missionaries during their May 13-14 meeting near Richmond, Virginia. Missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration on Tuesday, June 9, at 10:30 a.m. EDT. The event will be livestreamed on sbcannualmeeting.net.
John McCullough, trustee from Texas, recognized guests Tony Wolfe, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and Jon Jeffries of Woman’s Missionary Union. Wolfe presented a check for $1 million to IMB President Paul Chitwood to be used for renovation of missionary housing at the International Learning Center, the IMB’s campus in Rockville, Virginia, where new missionaries are trained and where missionaries return during stateside assignments.
“The decision is one of the easiest we’ve made,” Wolfe said of the vote to give the large gift to the IMB.
“South Carolina is a sending state,” he continued. “We have full confidence in the IMB’s vision, leadership and missional strategies. We’re honored to invest in future Southern Baptist missionaries and their families in this way.”
Thursday’s plenary session concluded the two-day gathering of trustees during which the board elected officers, met in standing committees, recognized trustees completing terms of service, and honored retired staff and missionaries who died in 2025.
President’s report
IMB President Paul Chitwood drew attention to celebrations and highlights as he recognized the 181-year legacy of the IMB. Chitwood celebrated points of impact presented to the trustees in the newly released Annual Statistical Report.
“With the public release today of IMB’s Annual Statistical Report,” Chitwood said, “we celebrate the reach of every Southern Baptist church that partners with IMB in praying, giving, sending, and going.”
For the ministry year 2025, the overseas missionary work of Southern Baptists resulted in the following:
— Gospel witness to more than 2 million people spread across 1,815 people groups.
— More than 1.3 million of those gospel shares were among unreached people groups.
— 196,497 professed faith in Christ.
— 31 people groups moved from unengaged to engaged.
— 7,697 new churches were planted, the biblical faithfulness of which is being measured against the 12 Characteristics of a Healthy Church, described in IMB’s Foundations document.
— More than 88,000 people were trained in evangelism.
— 68,000 disciples received leadership training.
The full 2025 ASR is available on the IMB website.
Full story.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Leslie Peacock Caldwell and originally published by the International Mission Board.
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