From the Desk of Dr. Porter…
October is a good month to give careful attention to our personal relationships to our Lord Jesus Christ. October is a great time to concentrate on the passion of God’s heart- lost people. We all need to be on mission for God. We need our hearts broken with the things that break God’s heart; like the fact that 1.7 billion people have never had an opportunity to even hear the gospel.
What can one church do for 1.7 billion people who have never heard of Jesus? Every church can share Christ. Every church can help start a new church. Every Sunday School class can adopt a missionary family in America and in a foreign country. Every Christian can give money to mission causes. Every church can get involved in meeting mission needs on a short-term basis at home and overseas. We need to make a fresh commitment to God through prayer and discover His heart for the lost and unreached.
Imagine the commitment of one of Southern Baptists’ earliest pioneers in missions support as she wrote thousands of letters to raise funds for home missionaries. Imagine the depth of love for an unchurched world from this woman who never tired of telling the old, old, story. Imagine where our 4913 missionaries would be today without Annie Armstrong’s support. Now imagine where they would be without YOUR support. Support our missionaries. None of your gifts are spent on administrative costs; 100% goes directly to fund mission work.
William Carey (1761-1834) missionary, said “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things FOR God.”
Southern Baptists’ heritage & roots go hand in hand with missioons. Interest in missions was spawned when the news of William Carey’s mission work spread to the US. Mission societies were formed in order to promote home & foreign missions. Luther Rice and Adoniram & Ann Judson were among the first missionaries to be sent to the foreign mission field in 1812.
After reaching India, the three converted to the Baptist belief of baptism for believers. Since the Baptists in the US were not organized, there was no system to support the mission work in India. Luther Rice returned home to help promote organized prayer, giving, and support for missionaries.
Different things frighten us- from the tiniest insect to the greatest height. Many of those fears even have names. But talking about Jesus shouldn’t be one of them. As Christians, we don’t need to be afraid to speak of our faith. To not do so is the “sin of silence”. The fields are ripe for harvest and the laborers are still few. But if every believer would take God’s command to witness to heart, using their gifts and abilities, depending upon God’s power- the gates of hell would shake!
Cooperation with each other is a joy and blessing for those who are first of all “co-laborers with God” (1 Cor. 3:9) to proclaim the gospel and make Christ known around the world.
For information and other resources, contact:
North American Mission Board (NAMB)
www.namb.net
1-800-634-2462
International Mission Board, SBC
www.imb.org
1-800-999-3113
Women’s Missionary Union (WMU)
www.scwmu.org
1-800-723-7242 ext. 8500