Missions agencies relocate workers
as world security concerns mount
___By Tony Cartledge
___North Carolina Biblical Recorder
___Mission agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have temporarily relocated field personnel due to security concerns associated with U.S. military action in Afghanistan.
___Clyde Meador, associate vice president in the operations office of the SBC's International Mission Board, said some people had been moved temporarily, and "at this point, all our personnel are fine."
___IMB officials were remaining in close contact, he said, and making decisions on a day-by-day basis.
___Barbara Baldridge, co-coordinator for global missions at CBF, said personnel in the most sensitive areas had moved to safer locations. Some might be able to return soon, she said, based on reports of local conditions. "We're looking at each one on an individual basis now," she said.
___Meador said personnel in Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia were watching the situation with special care. He declined to name specific countries, other than to say there are no IMB personnel currently in Afghanistan.
___Baldridge said CBF personnel in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia were taking precautions.
___Militant extremists in various parts of the world threatened reprisals against all Americans and their assets if the U.S. attacked Afghanistan. Demonstrations followed the attacks in several countries, but most personnel in sensitive areas already had relocated when Operation Enduring Freedom was launched Oct. 7.
___Meador said the IMB is watching for positive opportunities that might arise as a result of the current unrest. "Some might be more open to the gospel and wanting to respond," he said, "just as they are here." The IMB will seek out and develop new opportunities for advance as they arise, he said.
___IMB President Jerry Rankin said recent world events have prompted a flood of telephone calls, e-mails and letters from people worried about the safety of missionaries overseas.
___"We're grateful for the outpouring of concern for our missionaries during this crisis," he said. "We want to assure everyone that the highest priority is being given to the safety and security of our overseas personnel."
___However, he added: "This is not a time for putting missionary activity on hold. It is a time for seizing the opportunity to proclaim our living Savior in every effort to extend the kingdom of God into the strongholds of darkness."
The Baptist Standard
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
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