‘You left us...now we rejoice in your return’ LIBERIA (IMB) – For more than 30 years, International Mission Board missionaries were absent from Liberia. Civil war and unrest tore through the small West African nation, forcing missionaries to evacuate and leave churches without the support they once knew. When peace returned, the IMB posted a job request for someone to serve in the nation’s capital, Monrovia. It was a high priority need for this healing country. The request sat … [Read more...]
Three ways people groups move off the IMB unengaged list
It took weeks of research, both online and in person, to come up with a guess on where the Sys people lived in South Asia. Even then, the information contradicted itself. One finding listed 300 people among the group while another had 230,000. There was not even a digital footprint for International Mission Board missionary John Pratt to follow in his search for this unengaged, unreached people group. Despite being on a list of 3,072 unengaged people groups in the world, Pratt wondered … [Read more...]
IMB workers teach former German church plant about cross-cultural missions in Greece
ATHENS, Greece (IMB) – Peppy music blared from the neon flashing speaker as members of the local Greek evangelical church walked up the cobblestone road waving. They called to residents sitting on their balconies to meet them at the park in this Athens, Greece, neighborhood. Mixed in with the lively procession were seven volunteers from Germany. They laughed nervously, feeling self-conscious with everyone peering out windows and stopping on the street to watch. They’d never do something … [Read more...]
Q&A: Africa is not reached with the gospel
Africa has an urgent need for laborers to share the gospel. The image among Christian circles often portrays this area as mostly evangelical and reached. But according to International Mission Board missionary Josh Rivers, that’s not really the case. “Senegal is less evangelical than Iran,” Rivers, who has worked as a missionary in West Africa for more than 20 years, emphasized about a country steeped in Islam. “There are many places across Africa where the gospel has taken root and … [Read more...]
Report shows medical missions trip yields surprising results
Short-term volunteer mission projects can make a long-term impact. The key, according to International Mission Board missionaries Cade and Ginny Wheeler, is for the local church to be fully invested and use volunteers within an already existing strategy. After Armenian Baptists hosted a Serve Tour of mostly 50 medical volunteers from the United States and Greece, they reported their work advanced at a faster rate less than a year after the joint mission trip through Send Relief and IMB … [Read more...]
English club opens door to sharing gospel
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (IMB) – English club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, started out simple enough. Participants learned a few phrases, talked about American culture and listened to English vocabulary. As part of the curriculum, Chris and Rhonda Richard, International Mission Board missionaries from Hebron Baptist Church in Kentucky, introduced club members to “Three Circles.” This tool is often used by American churches to share the gospel. That’s when the club morphed from training … [Read more...]
Missions starts at home for newest IMB missionaries
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (IMB) – Lottie Moon’s home church hosted the International Mission Board’s Sept. 25 Sending Celebration. Rob Pochek, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Park Street, Charlottesville, Va., told the 57 newly appointed missionaries, their families and friends that he couldn’t think of a more appropriate place to send them off to the nations than the place Lottie Moon first heeded God’s calling on her life. “On Dec. 21, 1858, a student came to a revival service here. … [Read more...]
Women discover missional living is ‘better together’
LUSAKA, Zambia (IMB) – Michelle Chitwood tilted her head as she slowly looked around the courtyard. The wife of the International Mission Board president wanted to take in every aspect of this pastors’ wives tea in Lusaka, Zambia. At one table, four heads bowed in prayer. A few hours ago, these women — from Michigan, Missouri and Zambia — were strangers but now they clasped hands and poured their hearts out to God about the trials of planting new churches in their communities. Two tables … [Read more...]
Seminary property transfers from IMB to Zambia Baptist Fellowship
LUSAKA, Zambia (IMB) – A Zambian pastor raised the silver plaque high in the air to the sound of applause. It was official. The International Mission Board transferred the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zambia property in Lusaka, Zambia, to the Baptist Fellowship of Zambia, on July 31. This transition of property has been in the works for almost a decade when IMB trustees voted to entrust the future of the seminary to Zambian Baptist leaders. But obstacle after obstacle hit that neither … [Read more...]
Global health strategies create gospel access through CPR certification
EASTERN EUROPE (IMB) – The American doctor hummed “Stayin’ Alive” softly to the young Armenian medic kneeling on the floor administering CPR. As she caught the beat, her confidence increased, and the green light on the practice manikin lit up. She smiled, despite feeling tired and sweat running down her face. She was doing chest compressions correctly. CPR training courses like this one are unique in Eastern Europe. It’s not every day you can earn an American certification, even for … [Read more...]
New IMB missionaries celebrated during SBC annual meeting
INDIANAPOLIS (BP) – Newly appointed missionaries looked around the Indiana Convention Center’s hall at the urging of Paul Chitwood, International Mission Board president. He gestured from the stage to more than 13,000 messengers and guests sent by local churches to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis, June 11-12. “Beside you and behind you are row upon row, thousands of Southern Baptists, here to celebrate with you as you prepare to go to the nations,” he said. … [Read more...]
IMB dinner at SBC annual meeting focuses on faces of lostness
INDIANAPOLIS (IMB) – More than 2,000 people gathered for the International Mission Board dinner, June 10, at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. IMB leaders and missionaries brought to life the faces of the spiritually lost around the world. They told stories about a young mother living in gang-controlled slums in a crowded city; Sudanese refugees who fled their homes with nothing and found a safe place in Uganda; Chuck, a third-generation Korean Japanese … [Read more...]