Riverside, Calif. | The Southern Baptist International Mission Board will focus on five goals over the next five years, President Paul Chitwood announced during meetings with trustees Jan. 29-30. The targets are built around IMB’s vision and mission to engage unreached people and places.
One of the goals is to send an additional 500 fully funded missionaries by 2025, Chitwood said, supported by increased giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. IMB is targeting a 6% increase in annual giving to the offering, which would total around $10 million a year.
“While that seems like a lot of money, it will only require that every one of the 16 million Southern Baptists increase their Lottie Offering by $0.63 per year,” Chitwood said. “Dividing by the number of Southern Baptist churches, every church needs to give an additional $200 per year. No matter how you do that math, the point is, it can be done.”
Dew inaugurated
New Orleans | Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) and Leavell College, used part of his Jan. 30 inaugural address to outline the seminary’s new mission statement: “New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College prepare servants to walk with Christ, proclaim his truth, and fulfill his mission.”
Dew, elected in June 2019, explained that the mission statement calls the seminary family to servanthood, to spiritual fervor and deep devotion to Christ through gospel proclamation among the lost and broken, and to service and discipleship.
“Tonight, I turn us as an institution, as a family, and anybody else who wants to get onboard to this simple, simple mission,” he said. “Everything we do, every class we teach, every program we offer, every dollar we spend, every initiative that we unfold will be to execute that mission.”
Floyd recommends changes
Nashville, Tenn. | Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd announced he will propose revisions to the EC mission and ministries statement, including a new prayer ministry.
“Updating the language of the SBC Executive Committee’s ministry assignments and the explanation of them is important as we seek to better serve Southern Baptist churches,” Floyd told Baptist Press. The revisions affect five of the EC’s six current ministry assignments, and would add a new one: assist churches through elevating the ministry of prayer.
Ministry statement changes must be approved by the EC and then by a majority vote of messengers at the next SBC annual meeting, held this year in Orlando, Fla., June 9-10.