Making Sense of Southern Baptist Missions

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acts18Mission boards are a unique design of churches and denominations strategically created to advance the gospel. Among Southern Baptists, mission boards have been created corresponding to an Acts 1:8 model.

Closest to our churches and local associations of churches, to help evangelize their “Judea,” churches have created a state mission board. In Kentucky, our churches have the Kentucky Baptist Convention Mission Board. Our state mission board helps churches by providing training, resources, and missionary personnel in areas of evangelism, missions, church planting, and church revitalization. The state mission board also receives and distributes missions funds given through the Cooperative Program and various missions offerings. Among many other roles, KBC also helps churches have a voice in society on issues like casino gambling, gay marriage, and the sanctity of life.

A bit further from our churches, to help evangelize their “Samaria,” churches have created the North American Mission Board. NAMB is engaged in helping churches plant churches. NAMB also provides a wealth of resources, missionaries, and strategic initiatives to assist churches as they take the gospel to the least evangelized places and people groups in our Samaria.

Furthest from our churches, to help evangelize “the ends of the earth,” churches have created the International Mission board. Of the 11,700 people groups discovered through IMB research, 6,000 are unreached with the gospel, meaning that less than 2% are professing Christians. Half of unreached people groups are also unengaged, meaning there is no ongoing strategy to evangelize, disciple, or plant churches among those people groups. Through IMB, our churches are seeking to reach these unreached people groups by providing complete support to 4,800 missionaries serving in 140 countries.

The three mission boards supported by KBC churches receive funding from two primary channels: the Cooperative Program and an annual offering specified for each board. For our state mission board, in addition to CP, 1096 KBC churches churches last year gave through the Eliza Broadus Offering for state missions emphasized in September. For NAMB, in addition to CP, 1359 KBC churches gave through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering emphasized in April. For IMB, in addition to CP, 1503 KBC churches gave through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. As for CP, 1893 of our 2,400 affiliated churches contributed last year.

Through these mission boards churches see gospel advance in Kentucky, North America, and among the nations. This past year, 15 new churches were started and thousands of lost souls were saved in our state through the ministries of our state convention. Over 1,000 new churches were started in North America through NAMB. Over 23,000 new churches were started overseas through the IMB and over 300,000 new believers were baptized.

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