SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION REPORT
Final week I and three others (Terry Delaney, Martha DeWitt, and Wayne DeWitt) attended the Southern Baptist Conference (SBC) in Nashville, Tenn., as messengers from our church. We joined greater than 17,000 different messengers, together with virtually 4,000 registered visitors. This was an necessary week within the life and course of the SBC, and I left grateful and inspired by the choices that have been made and the unity that was displayed.
The gospel and our mission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth by way of phrase and deed proceed to be the precedence. For instance, through the Worldwide Mission Board’s sending ceremony, 64 new missionaries have been commissioned, for a present complete of 3,695 full-time missionaries across the globe (together with greater than 2,700 of their kids), all devoted to sharing the gospel and planting church buildings in locations the place gospel-preaching church buildings haven’t beforehand existed. That is the guts of who we’re as Southern Baptists, and that is what we help after we give to the Cooperative Program.
For the reason that starting of the Covid-19 pandemic, greater than 500 new missionaries have been commissioned, and in 176 years greater than 25,000 missionaries have gone to the nations by way of the SBC. In 2020 alone, 247 new folks teams and locations have been engaged, 769,494 folks heard a gospel witness (in comparison with simply over 500,000 in 2019), 144,322 folks confessed religion in Christ, 86,587 folks have been baptized, and 18,380 church buildings have been planted.
I used to be additionally inspired by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) report. Giving to the Cooperative Program additionally led to the beginning of 588 new church buildings throughout North America, 60 % of that are ethnic or multiethnic congregations. Since 2010, greater than 8,200 church buildings have been planted by way of NAMB, which make up virtually 17 % of the entire quantity of SBC church buildings in North America. From 1990 to the current, the entire quantity of church buildings within the SBC has elevated from 41,799 to 51,528. Like the brand new church vegetation in 2020, 60 % of the brand new church buildings added within the final thirty years have been primarily ethnic or minority church buildings.
By way of totally different resolutions, elections, and motions, I used to be grateful that the SBC overwhelmingly reconfirmed its dedication to racial unity and reconciliation, took a decisive stance towards sexual abuse, and rejected political litmus exams for Christians or church buildings. One of my favourite quotes from the sermon of the outgoing SBC President, J.D. Greear, was “We’re Nice Fee Baptists. We’ve political leanings. However we’re not the occasion of the elephant or the donkey. We’re the folks of the lamb.”
Amongst 9 resolutions handed, messengers accepted a complete assertion on the Bible’s sufficiency relating to race and racial reconciliation, a name for all church buildings to completely bar sexual abusers from the pastorate, a denunciation of any try to rescind the Hyde Modification (which prohibits federal funding of abortion), opposition to the Equality Act, and a name on the Chinese language Communist Get together to finish the genocide of the Uyghur Muslims. Moreover, messengers overwhelmingly accepted a movement calling for a 3rd-occasion investigation of the SBC Govt Committee relating to allegations of mishandled abuse claims. In my judgment, this was a obligatory motion. I’m additionally grateful for the brand new SBC President, Ed Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala. In additional than 27 years of ministry at his present church, Linton has constantly demonstrated a transparent dedication to the authority of Scripture, the gospel, and our shared confession of religion, the Baptist Religion and Message. He’s greatest recognized for his dedication to racial reconciliation in his neighborhood.
As a church, we do much more in sending out missionaries, planting church buildings, and coaching ministers of the gospel by partnering with different gospel-dedicated church buildings than we might ever have the ability to do on our personal. Please proceed to wish for all of the newly commissioned missionaries, newly shaped church buildings, and newly elected leaders as we proceed to associate to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
God bless,
