RTIM Year-in-Review 2021

2021

Reaching & Teaching Year-in-Review

Dear friends and family, As 2021 draws to a close, I'm thankful for the opportunity to take a few moments to reflect on what the Lord has done and is doing through our partnership in the gospel.

This past year has been full of the complexities that we’ve all faced throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Our God has been faithful time and time again. Our partnerships with sending churches are stronger.

The unity among our missionaries is sweeter. And our resolve to press forward in the task of making mature disciples, establishing healthy churches, and training local leaders is greater than ever before.

As Paul closed his first letter to the Thessalonians, he reminded the church that the surety and completeness of their sanctification ultimately rested in the hands of the God who called them to be His children. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). At Reaching & Teaching, we desire to glorify the Lord with our efforts and plans, but we know that, ultimately, the fruit of our labor is due to the faithfulness of God. He will surely do it!

As you read on you'll see a number of things that the Reaching & Teaching team is thankful for as we look back at 2021 and what we are excited about in the year to come. As we look to the year ahead, I can't think of a team of missionaries and stateside staff I would rather work with or a mission that I would rather commit my life to. Your partnership with us is making a difference in many lives in many places. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ryan Robertson

Looking Back New Missionary Units Appointed In God’s kindness, we had the joy of appointing 19 new missionary units who have either deployed or are preparing to deploy all over the world. Each of these individuals and families is strongly supported by their sending church and humbly committed to the task of making mature disciples, establishing healthy churches, and training local leaders around the world.

19

New Missionary Units

Teams Going to the Unreached Due to our growing relationship with Radius International, we have appointed our first 5 missionary units who are committed to take the Gospel to the unreached. This commitment includes one 3-year term learning the national language of a country before moving to the unreached context and learning the tribal language. Praise God for their willingness and commitment, and may the Lord continue to add more laborers for the harvest.

Growing Stateside Staff This past year, our Stateside Staff grew to 33 people, spread across the different departments of the organization. We are particularly grateful for our growing Member Care Team, and the addition of our new Member Care Strategist, Jeremy Pierre. We pray that these valuable additions will help us steward well each of the missionaries that are part of our family.

Jeremy Pierre Member Care Strategist

Jeremy Pierre is the Lawrence & Charlotte Hoover Professor of Biblical Counseling & Chair of the Department of Biblical Counseling & Family Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pierre also serves as a pastor at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from Cedarville University (B.A.), Cleveland State University (M.A.), and Southern Seminary (M.Div. & Ph.D.). He is author of several books on theology and counseling. In addition to short term missions, Pierre has worked with various missions organizations as a board/task force member.

Short-term Highlight: Brazil Earlier this year, we were able to establish a training site in Lucas do Rio Verde in the north part of the state of Matto Grosso in Brazil. Students who had attended classes in Cuiaba requested the same training four hours north. Their desire is to see the many churches the Brazilian Baptist Convention grow in understanding and practice of healthy ecclesiology. Our RTIM missionary cooperated with an IMB missionary, the Brazilian Baptist Convention, and local pastors to launch the training site. We praise God for the 40 pastors and leaders who attended the training, eager to establish healthy churches in the southern Amazon region of Brazil.

Colleagues Committed to Further Education This year, a number of Reaching & Teaching personnel completed doctoral programs, showing a commitment to excellence and diligence. Congratulations to Mat Kountz, Athan Shongzan, Christopher Sills, Michael Small, and Jimmy Winfrey on a job well done in completing their doctoral work this year. Please pray for these men and others at Reaching & Teaching who are currently pursuing degrees to further their work in making mature disciples, establishing healthy churches, and training local leaders around the world.

Commitment to Further Education

Budget Missionaries/Staff: $3,495,737 Short-term Min: $40,381 Operations: $394,478 Total: $3,930,596

Looking Forward CrossCon This year will be the first year we are a major sponsor of CROSS - a bi-annual conference for 18-25 year olds who gather to consider the most loving cause in the universe: making the name of Jesus known in every corner of the world.

We will have a team of over 25 staff and missionaries serving at our booth at CROSS and participating in a variety of panels, breakout sessions, missionary spotlights, and late night events with our friends at 9Marks and the Pillar Network.

Regional Preview Days We have enjoyed hosting Preview Days in Louisville, KY four times this past year, and have seen the value of spending a day talking about the theological and missiological convictions that are central to who we are.

We are looking forward to expanding our footprint, and hosting several Regional Preview Days in 2022 in Austin, Atlanta, and D.C.

Practicum and Internship We are excited to announce that our Practicum has grown to 10 sites around the world, with spots for 35 students.

This is a great opportunity for someone seeking to discern whether they should move overseas or anyone who wants to grow in their love for the local church and the nations.

We are also preparing to launch our new Global Ecclesiology and Missiology Internship in January 2023, and are so grateful for the churches that are partnering with us, both in the states and around the world.

10

sites around the world

35

students

New Sites Being Launched In spite of the challenges related to international travel, we look forward to some exciting opportunities in 2022. We have continued to preview sites and establish trustworthy contacts in the Caribbean, West Africa, and Mexico which should yield training opportunities in the months ahead. We also are in the process of developing womens' training sites in Europe and Africa.

In addition, we added 3 new Training Facilitators to our team over the past year, and are excited to see new opportunities developed.

3

New Training Facilitators New Womens’ Training Sites

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