If we are going to be Acts 1:8 Christ-followers who are witnesses to our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth, then many of our folks must be willing to be missionaries. If any group knows how to do missions, it’s Texas Baptists. Our forefathers planted churches all over Texas and led all other states in providing missionaries through the Southern Baptist Convention to all regions of the world.
How did we do it?
We preached missions. We taught children about missions. We gave invitations for people to surrender to missions. We held missions conferences. We prayed for missionaries by name, especially on their birthdays. We gave generously to mission offerings. I always challenged church members to give their largest Christmas gift to Jesus, since it was his birthday we celebrated, and a gift to Lottie Moon was a gift to Jesus.
Our seminaries had mission week, where invitations were given every day challenging students to go to the ends of the earth. Churches bought mission houses, where furloughing missionaries would live for a year at a time. During that year, they would tell us stories and show us pictures of faraway places and dramatic conversions. Occasionally, the missionaries would tell of healings and other miracles, but they typically weren’t invited back.
When I was pastor of Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, I got so carried away that I prayed for God to call our best folks to be missionaries. And he did. We sent some of our finest to the mission field, where they served and even continue to serve. That taught me a lesson that it is hard to replace good leaders, and I quit praying that prayer.
Now, we are being told we should be sending 8,500 missionaries instead of 5,500, but we don’t have the money to send them or the volunteers to go.
What should we do? One thing we need to do is get back to preaching, teaching, praying, giving and going when it comes to missions. The last thing we should cut in our church budgets in tough economic times is missions.
Another thing we must do is enlarge our mission paradigm. Did you know we can sponsor a seminary student in the Indian Baptist Seminary for $1,000 a year, including room, board, books and tuition? For a $3,000 to $4,000 investment, we can help prepare a missionary in India for life. Missions must be indigenous. How do we support brothers and sisters around the world to reach their own people?
In my next article, I want to introduce you to a recent graduate of our Louise Herrington School of Nursing who is a missionary. I want to tell you the story of a hospital custodian and a hospital administrator who were called to Christian service. Four Texas Baptist pastors are presidents of national Baptist ethnic fellowships. They will lead us to reach the multiethnic population of Texas as well as their lands of origin.
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Randel Everett is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.
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