By The Numbers...

I thought I would share a few numbers and other missions-related thoughts with you this evening.

There are currently more than 5,000 missionary units (family or single individual) commissioned by the IMB serving in the field.

This is the largest group of IMB missionaries to be trained here at the International Learning Center.  In our "class" there are 88 couples, 79 singles and 99 children who in another eight weeks will cover the earth for one purpose...to share the good news that God provided his son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sins and that we can be made right with God through our faith in Jesus.

The IMB Vision Statement says that "We will LEAD Southern Baptists to be on mission with God to bring all the peoples of the world to saving faith in Jesus Christ." (emphasis mine)

In his book, "To The Ends Of The Earth", IMB President Jerry Rankin says "It is not the responsibility of the International Mission Board to do missions on behalf of Southern Baptists; the Great Commission was given to every believer and every church.  The role of the IMB as a denominational mission entity is to serve, enable, and facilitate all Southern Baptists to be obedient to our God's kingdom purpose and fulfill the Great Commission."

So here are some staggering numbers for you to consider.  With more than 5,000 missionary units in the field there is one unit for every 1.6 million people in the world.  In South Asia there is only Southern Baptist  missionary for every 4.6 million people.  More than 4,000 ethnic, linguistic people groups are identified as "unreached" and hundreds of them have no access to the Gospel whatsoever.  1.3 billion people have never heard the name of Jesus.

Rankin writes, "I have always assumed that reminding people of the Great Commission would motivate them to at least consider the possiblility of going as a missionary....However, we apply the Great Commission to whatever we do to witness where we live and choose to label it as "missions." We rationalize away this mandate meant for the church and all of God's people and assume it applies only to an elite few who are called as missionaries. We give token financial support for them to represent us and carry out the Great Commission on our behalf. We assume we are exempt and can pursue our own plans with no responsibility toward those throughout the world who desperately need to hear the good news of Jesus."

Rankin reminds us that while Southern Baptists have more than 5,000 missionaries on the field that number represents less than three-tenths of one percent of our church membership. "Does He (God) choose only one out of every three thousand faithful church members to go and witness to 95-percent of the world's population, while allowing the rest of us to live contentedly among the remaining five percent that has abundant opportunity to hear the gospel?"

It is time that each of us ask ourselves what we are doing to be actively involved with being on mission for Christ. What can we do to help spread the Gospel to every tribe and tongue around the world? The IMB has boiled down what you can do into three simple statements: "You can pray. You can give. You can go." Won't you take that first step today? Start simple...pray. Pray that God would reveal to you how you can be an ambassador for Him. Pray for missionaries who are on the field. Pray for missionaries who are here at the ILC for training. Pray for the different (or a specific) people groups of the world. And finally, as you are praying ask God, "Is it me that needs to go."

When you look at it, the numbers are staggering. Won't you join us on mission?

Blessings,
Marc