79 international missionaries commissioned in New Orleans

Some of them spoke in the open with their images projected in the convention center. Others stood in shadow behind screens with only their outlines visible as they introduced themselves and said a few words about their mission call.

International missionaries increasingly work under aliases, keeping their names and purposes confidential because of rising anti-Christian policies in the countries where they serve.

Of the 79 missionaries commissioned by the International Mission Board (IMB) at the convention in New Orleans, 57 are serving undercover.

The ceremony of introduction and prayer was an emotional moment for messengers and the families who entrust their children and grandchildren into God’s hands as they head for foreign lands and peoples.

IMB President Paul Chitwood told messengers, “They will also trust that Southern Baptists, that’s you and me, will hold the ropes for them.” The missionaries will be “taking the good news with them, have gone to share the gospel with the lost.” They include the 3,500 missionaries and their 2,700 children on the field. He shared there are also 1,200 missionary candidates working through the credentialing process. the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering is up 27%. In that time NAMB church planters have planted 10,000 churches. Those churches “reflect the blood sweat and tears of the church planters who sent them,” he stated.

Chitwood unveiled a new IMB initiative called Project 3000. “The IMB has identified the remaining 3,072 unengaged people groups no one has been engaging the gospel with until now,” he said.

According to the IMB website, the goal of Project 3000 is to equip missionaries and their local partners to locate unreached communities, make initial gospel connections, and report research for future longterm gospel engagement.

By 2030, one third of SBC churches will have been planted since 2010. And, he said, they are anticipated to “have an 86.2% fouryear survival rate.” on remodeling, decorating, and an $11,000 espresso machine under the seminary’s previous president, Adam Greenway. “I own my own home, have a $69 Keurig, and go to Hobby Lobby for my Christmas decorations.” Messengers who understood the reference laughed.

Ezell noted in a previous administration, NAMB’s church planting numbers weren’t always accurately tracked, but now the agency keeps an “accurate count of the numbers being reported” and “each church plant has a name” and an SBC ID number.

Sending relief in migration crisis willing to leave behind comforts, friends and family, to answer God’s call upon their lives,” he said, heading to 33 countries.

Ezell and Chitwood were joined onstage by Bryant Wright, president of NAMB and IMB’s shared ministry, Send Relief. Wright reported on Send Relief efforts in Turkey following a devastating earthquake in February.

Wright shared from the recent international Serve Tours in Bangkok, Thailand and Nairobi, Kenya, a ministry model that will also bring teams from SBC churches to Chicagoland in August.

In his convention report, Chitwood said that in 2022, IMB missionaries planted 21,231 new churches in 122 countries and 728,589 people heard the gospel. The totals included 178,177 new believers and 102,417 baptisms.

Wearing a baseball uniform at one point, Chitwood implored messengers to “keep cheering for the home team which is the IMB. Let us not forget to keep praying for those who

“We’re hoping to send out 100 missionary explorers this year,” he said. “They’ll be going out with just a backpack to the most difficult places in the planet.”

Chitwood asked messengers to “pray about this call on your life: 300 people will answer this call to join in this great pursuit. You can be a virtual explorer to join in this work knowing you can join them in this journey.” (Read more about it at IMB.org.)

NAMB pledges greater transparency

When it was his turn to report, North American Mission Board (NAMB) President Kevin Ezell shared that since 2010, giving to

Today’s NAMB, Ezell stated, is a “good steward of Southern Baptists’ money.” Now it invests between $2,000-$3,000 a month in individual church planters depending on their location. Every endorsed church planter is trained, and planters along with their families have healthcare coverage their first year.

As all entity heads do, Ezell fielded questions following his report. Messenger Jared Moore of Tennessee asked if NAMB would commit to financial transparency by posting its internal audits to SBC.net, in light of a recent report detailing overspending at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. “Our trustees follow a very robust process of review,” Ezell responded, noting NAMB does make its audits public.

Ezell referenced some of Southwestern’s extravagant expenditures