It was 12-year-old Zachary Rankin’s first overseas missions trip.
Though he had spent five years in Thailand as a child of missionaries, he had never been to the jungles of Peru — and neither had his grandfather, Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board (IMB). In 2008, the two traveled about five hours by dugout canoe down river to spend a few days in a remote village with the IMB’s Xtreme Team missionaries who worked among a remote tribe known as the Yaminahua. They bathed in the river, slept in hammocks and ate monkey with the villagers.
The trip marked the potential beginning of a child’s commitment to missions. It also marked the sun setting on a 40-year career — 17 as IMB president — focused on helping take the gospel to every tribe, tongue and nation. Rankin retired as IMB president Aug. 1.
“[Missions] runs in my blood,” Zachary said. “[My grandfather] has been a huge influence on my life. I want to finish what he started.”
Missions does seem to run in the Rankins’ blood. Zachary’s parents, Russ and Angela, served in Thailand with their three children. Rankin’s daughter (name withheld for security reasons) serves overseas.
Wisdom, focus, consistency and a commitment to the Lord’s work are a few of the words that longtime friend and IMB Executive Vice President Clyde Meador used to describe Rankin — particularly the word “consistency.”
Meador recalls a conversation the two men had a few months before Rankin was tapped in 1993 as president of what was then the Foreign Mission Board. The organization would change its name to the International Mission Board in 1997.
“We were in a car, and I asked him, ‘What will you do if you’re president?’” Meador recalled. “He said, ‘That will never happen.’”
After much pressing by Meador, Rankin shared a list of things he’d do if he were elected president — but he prefaced it again with, “That will never happen.”
The list included unifying the organization’s focus, streamlining decision making, restoring a sense of ownership to field staff and better equipping missionaries to do their jobs.
“Most of the things he said are what he has done,” Meador said.
Rankin and his wife, Bobbye, were appointed to East Java, Indonesia, in 1970. The couple and their two children spent the first few years on the field enduring rejection of the gospel, spiritual warfare and illness.
The Rankins eventually saw progress in Indonesia before moving through the ranks to associate area director for South and Southeast Asia and to director for Southern Asia and Pacific in 1987.
Rebekah Naylor, a retired medical missionary who served with the IMB for more than 30 years, reflected on her longtime friendship with the Rankins. Naylor served at Bangalore (India) Baptist Hospital under Rankin’s leadership during his years as area director in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
She fondly remembers the encouragement and support both Rankins gave her while she was on the field — including thoughtful notes from Bobbye.
“They were not just nice little notes that said, ‘I’m praying for you,’ but they were very personal, specific notes,” Naylor said. “The notes made me feel that she really was praying, concerned and involved.”
Naylor recalls Rankin’s commitment to missions and steady leadership.
“He is definitely a person of prayer,” she said.
“His faith was evident in all parts of what he did … his relationships, vision and every aspect of his life,” she added. “He is a person of vision and is able to communicate that.”
Rankin’s daughter said she’s always admired his ability to handle difficult decisions — and occasional criticism that comes with being the president of an organization.
“Things that would crush or overwhelm the average person just seem to roll off his back because he keeps such an eternal perspective,” she wrote in an e-mail. “He has a remarkable ability to focus on the Lord.
“He can balance more things in his head than anyone else I know.”
Remaining accountable for his leadership is something Rankin has worked hard to maintain. He recently shared with staff that during his years as president, he annually met with a small circle of friends — mostly pastors — for a time of accountability. Each one in the group could call him at any time to check on his attitude, relationships and personal discipline, he said.
One called after important meetings to check his attitude, Rankin said.
“He asks if I am harboring bitterness or resentment toward anyone or if there is a strained relationship I need to clear up,” Rankin said.
Another called “out of the blue” to make sure he’s spending time with his family. “They always ask about my quiet time to be sure I am not neglecting my time with the Lord,” he added.
Russ Rankin said his father sees accountability and time with the Lord as absolute necessities. “He puts a lot of weight into that … [a] time of being on his face before the Lord and seeking the Lord’s direction.” (BP)
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