March 3, 2003

IMB reports record results; funding lagging behind sending
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___The number of people willing to serve in international missions continues to outpace the support offered by traditional giving sources, trustees of the International Mission Board were told in a year-end summary.
___Trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention agency responded in late January by approving expenditure of $4.2 million in unbudgeted funds to cover expenses for 2002.
___Increased expenses and decreased returns on investments have caused the IMB to pull $50 million from operating reserves over the past two years, Vice President for Finance David Steverson told trustees.
___IMB administrators reported record numbers of appointments to missionary service and huge increases in measurable results on mission fields worldwide.
___The total number of missionaries under appointment by the IMB was reported as 5,441. That includes 3,359 career missionaries, 428 associate missionaries and 107 apprentice missionaries, all of whom are classified as long-term workers by the IMB. The total number of long-term workers is 3,894.
___Associate missionaries are adults age 30 or older who may qualify for a specific assignment but not for career service, due to age, education or other factors. They serve four-year terms. Apprentice missionaries generally are younger adults who need additional experience before appointment to career service. They are appointed to three-year terms with a mentor.
___The IMB's missionary count also includes 1,524 short-term workers. Among these are 517 Journeymen, a two-year program for single college graduates under age 30; 629 International Service Corps workers, a two-year program for adults of any age; and 378 Master's workers, a two- to three-year commitment for those older than 50.
___Much of the IMB's rapid growth over the last decade has come through adding short-term workers and replacing a pool of post-war career missionaries now reaching retirement age.
___The total missionary count in 1992 was 3,893, compared to 5,441 at the end of 2002. At least three-fourths of that net gain of 1,548 workers can be accounted for in short-term missionaries.
___The 3,359 career missionaries serving at the end of 2002 compares to 3,356 career missionaries serving at the end of 1992, according to the SBC Annual. While the career missionary count has not grown, many career missionaries have retired and been replaced during this decade.
___The 428 associate missionaries serving at the end of 2002 compares to 133 serving at the end of 1992, a 221 percent increase for the decade.
___Greater growth, however, has occurred in the short-term categories of Journeymen, International Service Corps and Master's workers.
___Even in 1992, the number of ISC personnel being appointed outpaced the number of career missionaries appointed for the year.
___Direct comparisons in short-term workers cannot be made for the decade due to changes in categories. However, in 1992 the mission board reported 109 Journeymen, compared to 517 serving at the end of 2002. And in 1992, the board reported 295 "special project" workers--meaning everyone who was not a career, associate or Journeyman missionary--compared to 1,137 workers today who do not fit one of those three categories.
___Growth in the number of missionaries serving shorter terms creates a double burden on the appointment process. More missionaries are being appointed, and the cycle in which they are replaced or reappointed occurs more frequently.
___If a person serves in certain short-term roles and then moves into another IMB assignment two years later, for example, that counts for two appointments.
___That raises the count for annual appointment statistics, but it also creates more demand on the financial resources needed to train and send out workers.
___IMB President Jerry Rankin predicted last November that the board might have to restrict the flow of new missionaries to the field because income is not keeping pace with the number of workers being processed for appointment.
___Gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions would have to increase nearly 19 percent to meet the demand, he said.
___Southern Baptists have given record amounts to the IMB through the Lottie Moon Offering and the Cooperative Program unified budget, but that has not kept pace with IMB budgets. For example, the $113.7 million given to Lottie Moon in 2001 was an all-time high but fell short of the IMB's $120 million goal.
___The board's 2003 budget provides funds for appointment of 150 new missionaries of all types, but IMB leaders predict the actual number will be 400 or more.
___These field missionaries, whether long-term or short-term, work with a growing number of volunteers who travel to mission fields for anywhere from a week to a month. Volunteers have tripled over the last decade, from 11,197 in 1992 to 33,963 in 2002.
___Some advocates of a career-missionary-based strategy have criticized the IMB for moving so strongly into reliance on short-term and volunteer workers, fearing this will reduce effectiveness on the field.
___The IMB responds that, from a numerical perspective at least, mission work worldwide is posting gains as well.
___IMB officials reported 8,369 churches were organized in 2002, an increase of 42.5 percent over the previous year. By comparison, 1,605 church starts were reported in 1992.
___A "church" is defined as "a group of baptized believers covenanted together into community by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of worship, fellowship, witness, nurture and ministry." The count includes churches begun directly by IMB workers and those begun by "overseas Baptist partners."
___IMB missionaries reported 421,436 baptisms worldwide in 2002, an increase of 8.7 percent. By comparison, 251,700 baptisms were reported by missionaries in 1992. As with churches, the count includes baptisms reported by "overseas Baptist partners."
___Officials also reported that IMB personnel "engaged" 183 new people groups in 2002. Of those, 138 were considered "unreached," according to Scott Holste, director of the IMB's global research department.
___"These numbers represent groups newly engaged by IMB missionaries and/or our overseas Baptist partners," Holste explained. "The vast majority, however, represent direct engagement by IMB missionaries."
___"Engagement," he added, "means that we have IMB missionaries appointed to work directly with the group. For most, it means we have IMB missionaries assigned to the group and that they are actively implementing church-planting strategies among that group."
___The one caution expressed by IMB leaders is a recent downturn in high-school-age volunteers for short-term assignments. The 50 percent drop in this category for 2002 probably is tied to fears from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, officials suggest.


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Sevice category	1992	2001	2002
Total missionary count**	3,893	5,100	5,441
Long-term
Career missionary	3,356	3,332	3,359
Missionary associate	133	378	428
Missionary apprentice	*	74	107
Short-term
Journeyman	109	436	517
ISC	*	561	629
Masters	*	270	378
Volunteers	11,197	34,000	33,963
** Totals do not exactly match categories as listed below but are the official totals reported for the year.
*Direct comparative data not available. Total short-term workers in 1992 were 404, compared to 1,524 in 2002, a 277 percent increase. For the decade, the IMB registered a 40 percent increase in total missionaries. Career missionaries held steady. Other categories of long-term service increased, but a direct comparison cannot be made. Of the net increase of 1,548 missionaries for the decade, at least 1,120 are accounted for in increased numbers of short-term workers, which represents three-fourths of the gain.

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