June 11, 2001
IMB splits Asia work to two units
___RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Southern Baptist mission work in Central and Southern Asia will be divided into two distinct regions, a move International Mission Board leaders say is necessary to focus on growing opportunities there.
___IMB trustees approved the change during their May 21-23 meeting in Richmond.
___They also appointed 53 new missionaries, recognized 72 retiring missionaries, received a report on factors affecting the length of missionary service and elected officers.
___Vast differences in culture and in the way Christianity is developing in the area convinced IMB strategists that missions efforts would be much more effective if they were organized in two regions, said Avery Willis, IMB senior vice president of overseas operations.
___The number of Southern Baptist workers focusing on people groups in the region has grown from 200 to more than 550 in the past four years, he said.
___The current leader of the combined region will direct the South Asia work, and a search process has begun for a Central Asia leader.
___IMB leaders reported to trustees updated information about missionary attrition. The overall attrition rate for IMB workers in 2000 was 5.1 percent of the total missionary force of almost 5,000 people.
___While lower than the 1999 rate of 5.3 percent, the number still is slightly higher than the average rate of 4.4 percent since 1990. The IMB attrition rate is substantially lower than those of other evangelical missionary agencies.
___Previous missionary experience is a major factor in determining whether an individual will last as a career missionary, Willis explained.
___"The 2000 attrition rate for long-term personnel with previous experience was 1 percent," he explained. "This is in sharp contrast with the 6.6 percent attrition rate for long-term personnel with no such experience."
___Last year, Southern Baptist workers with previous overseas experience in the International Service Corps or Journeyman programs comprised 31.7 percent of the total force. However, they accounted for only 6.5 percent of the long-term attrition.
___Attrition rates varied widely according to the category of service, Willis noted. The rates ranged from a high of 7 percent among Journeymen to a low of 1.4 percent among apprentices. The reason most frequently cited for resignations was to accept a job back in the United States (24 percent).
___Trustees elected Bob Claytor of Fair Play, S.C., to serve as chairman, succeeding Tim McCoy, pastor of Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon, Ga., who resigned from the board to devote more time to his church and family. Claytor, who teaches missions and theology at Toccoa Falls College, is a member of Northside Baptist Church in Anderson, S.C. He also founded the Carpenters for Christ missions organization
___Also elected were Stephen Davis of Russellville, Ark., first vice chairman; Lee Malloy of Paducah, Ky., second vice chairman; and Paulette Blankinship of Williamsburg, Va., recording secretary.
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